A foreign founder can usually register an ordinary French company without attaching a professional liability insurance certificate to the incorporation filing. That answer changes as soon as the company’s activity is regulated, involves construction, healthcare, insurance distribution or another sector for which French law makes insurance compulsory. It also changes in practice when a customer, landlord, bank, public authority or professional body requires evidence of cover before the company can operate. The decisive question is therefore not simply “can I incorporate without RC Pro?” but “what will this French company do, where will it do it, and what liability will the policy actually cover?” RC Pro means responsabilité civile professionnelle, the French expression for professional civil liability insurance. For a founder living abroad, a policy issued to the foreign parent is not automatically a policy issued to the French subsidiary, and a certificate naming the wrong entity may be useless. This guide separates the company-registration question from the operating-risk question, identifies the main mandatory regimes, and sets out a document and policy checklist. It also explains why the French legal register, the Kbis, the insurance certificate and the underlying policy must be read together before the first French contract is signed.

I. Can a foreign founder open a French company without professional liability insurance?

A. Is professional liability insurance required to register a French company?

The short answer is generally yes: a foreign founder may incorporate a French company before purchasing ordinary professional liability insurance, unless a sector-specific rule makes proof of insurance part of the conditions for the intended activity or the filing itself. French company law and French insurance law ask different questions. Company law determines when the entity exists, who represents it, what its corporate purpose is and how it is registered. Insurance law determines whether a particular risk must be insured and what a valid policy must cover. Confusing those stages is a common source of delay for founders who are preparing a French subsidiary from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Switzerland, the Middle East or another non-French jurisdiction.

Article 1842 of the French Civil Code provides that companies acquire legal personality at registration. The official text states that they “jouissent de la personnalité morale à compter de leur immatriculation”, meaning that the registered company becomes a person in law from its registration. The relevant reference is Article 1842 of the French Civil Code. The filing is made through the INPI Guichet unique, the one-stop electronic portal operated by the Institut national de la propriété industrielle, the National Institute of Industrial Property. The INPI guide to company-creation formalities lists the main incorporation routes, including a simplified joint-stock company, a limited liability company and their single-member forms.

After registration, the founder normally receives or can obtain evidence of the company’s identifiers. The SIREN is the nine-digit national identifier of the legal entity; the SIRET is the fourteen-digit identifier of a particular establishment. The RNE, or Registre national des entreprises, is the National Business Register. For a commercial company, a Kbis is the official extract traditionally issued through the commercial court registry; it identifies the company, its registered office, managers, activity and registration details. The greffe is the clerk’s office of the relevant court or register. These documents establish the company’s legal and administrative identity. They do not, by themselves, prove that a professional liability risk is insured.

A founder may also see references to URSSAF and BODACC during the wider launch process. URSSAF means Union de recouvrement des cotisations de sécurité sociale et d’allocations familiales; it is the body that collects many French social-security contributions. BODACC means Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales, the official bulletin publishing certain commercial and civil notices. Neither acronym is the name of a professional liability policy. A URSSAF registration, a BODACC notice, a Kbis and an insurance certificate answer different questions. A foreign founder should not rely on one document as a substitute for another.

The position is equally important for the distinction between a subsidiary and a branch. A French subsidiary is a separate legal person once registered. A branch or French establishment of a foreign company is not necessarily separate from its parent in the same way, even though it has French registration and a French place of business. A group policy may cover a branch, a subsidiary, or neither, depending on its insured-entity wording. The certificate must identify the actual operating entity and the activities declared to the insurer. “The group is insured” is not a sufficient answer. Ask whether the French SIREN, the French establishment, the parent, the branch and the relevant employees are all within the definition of insured persons.

There is also a pre-registration trap. Founders often sign a lease, consulting engagement, distributor agreement or purchase order “for a company in formation” before the company exists. Under Article 1843 of the French Civil Code, people who act for a company in formation remain bound by obligations created before registration, subject to a later takeover by the registered company. The official provision says that the persons acting before registration are “tenues des obligations nées des actes ainsi accomplis” and that the company may take over those commitments after registration. Insurance bought later may not automatically cover an earlier act, an earlier claim or an activity that was never declared. The contract, the effective date and any retroactive cover therefore matter before signature.

For an ordinary software company, management consultancy, import business, marketing agency or holding company, French law does not impose one universal RC Pro certificate merely because the company is being incorporated. That does not mean the company is risk-free. A customer may make insurance a condition of its procurement process. A landlord may require business insurance for premises. A bank may request evidence of cover for a financed asset. A regulated client may refuse to onboard a supplier without a certificate. An insurer may also refuse a claim if the actual service delivered is outside the declared activity. The legal answer at incorporation and the commercial answer before the first transaction can therefore be different.

A sound incorporation file should record the intended activity precisely rather than using a vague purpose such as “all commercial activities.” The activity description will affect the company’s registration, tax and social-security treatment, the insurer’s underwriting decision and the interpretation of exclusions. If a foreign parent plans to send employees to France, sell products into France, provide advice remotely to French customers or sign contracts through a French subsidiary, each operation should be mapped. The risk assessment should cover the company’s French operations even when no employee or director is permanently resident in France.

The practical rule is simple. Incorporation can often proceed without an ordinary RC Pro certificate, but trading should not begin until the founder has checked whether the activity is regulated, whether a customer or authority requires proof, and whether the proposed policy names the correct French entity. A filing strategy that ignores insurance can produce a valid Kbis followed by a legally unusable or commercially uninsurable business.

B. Which French business activities require mandatory insurance before trading?

French law creates mandatory insurance obligations by activity and risk, not by the nationality of the shareholders. A foreign-owned company is treated like any other operator when it performs the regulated activity in France. The founder should therefore review the activity line by line. The fact that a business is incorporated as a SAS, a simplified joint-stock company, or a SARL, a limited liability company, does not decide the insurance question. The corporate form limits or organises certain financial exposures; it does not turn an uninsured regulated activity into a lawful one.

The first major regime is construction. Article L. 241-1 of the French Insurance Code applies to a natural or legal person whose ten-year construction liability may be engaged under Articles 1792 and following of the Civil Code. The rule is direct: the person “doit être couverte par une assurance”, must be insured. The person must be able to prove cover when a building site opens and when bidding for a public contract. The full rule is available in Article L. 241-1 of the French Insurance Code.

Article 1792 of the French Civil Code explains the underlying liability. It begins: “Tout constructeur d’un ouvrage est responsable de plein droit”, meaning that a builder is liable as of right for certain damage affecting the solidity of the work or making it unfit for its intended purpose, unless a foreign cause is proved. The official Article 1792 text is essential when the French company designs, builds, supervises, renovates or materially participates in a work. A foreign parent’s general commercial liability policy is not a substitute for French construction cover unless its wording and regulatory acceptance genuinely satisfy the applicable regime.

Construction proof also has a special documentary rule. Article L. 243-2 of the Insurance Code requires persons subject to the construction insurance obligations to justify compliance. For the relevant construction liabilities, the proof takes the form of insurance certificates attached to professional quotations and invoices. The text says that the justifications “prennent la forme d’attestations d’assurance”. See Article L. 243-2 of the French Insurance Code. This is more demanding than a customer simply asking, as a matter of contract, for a generic RC Pro certificate. The certificate must correspond to the work, the period and the insured entity.

The consequences of failing to obtain compulsory construction insurance are serious. Article L. 243-3 of the Insurance Code provides for imprisonment of six months and a fine of 75,000 euros, or one of those penalties, for violating the construction insurance provisions, subject to the statutory exception for an individual building a dwelling for personal or family occupation. The official text refers to “un emprisonnement de six mois et d’une amende de 75 000 euros”. Read Article L. 243-3 of the French Insurance Code before allowing a French subsidiary to start construction work.

The Cour de cassation has also treated proof at the opening of a building site as a practical protection for the customer. In its judgment of 5 March 2020, Cour de cassation, Third Civil Chamber, 5 March 2020, no. 19-13.024, the Court held that the owners had a possibility of terminating the construction contract because the required insurance had not been taken out at the opening of the site. The decision matters for a foreign founder because a certificate received after a contract is signed may be too late. The date of the certificate, the date the policy became effective and the date the work began must be compared, not merely placed in a closing file.

The second major regime concerns healthcare. Article L. 1142-2 of the French Public Health Code requires liberal healthcare professionals, healthcare facilities and certain legal persons conducting prevention, diagnosis or care activities to take out insurance for civil or administrative liability arising from harm to third parties. The statute says that the persons listed “sont tenus de souscrire une assurance”. The scope includes more than a doctor working alone; it can reach a company that conducts regulated health activities or supplies relevant health products. The current text is available at Article L. 1142-2 of the French Public Health Code.

The third example is insurance distribution. An insurance intermediary or ancillary insurance intermediary must have professional civil liability cover unless an equivalent arrangement or full responsibility accepted by another insurance undertaking applies. Article L. 512-6 of the French Insurance Code also requires the intermediary to be able to prove its status at any time. The provision is reproduced in the official Légifrance section for Article L. 512-6. A foreign fintech, broker, comparison platform or managing agent should not assume that a technology-services policy covers regulated intermediation.

Other regulated sectors may create their own insurance requirements. Estate agents and property managers, legal professionals, regulated health occupations, financial intermediaries, transport operators and certain tourism or security activities can be subject to sector-specific rules, professional registration conditions or financial guarantees. The precise activity must be checked against the governing text and the competent professional authority. An online description that says “RC Pro is mandatory for every company” is too broad; a description that says “RC Pro is never mandatory” is equally unsafe. The up-to-date Service-Public overview of professional insurance confirms that mandatory cover depends on the activity and identifies construction, healthcare and regulated professions as examples.

A vehicle obligation is different from ordinary professional liability insurance. A company that owns or uses a vehicle for business purposes must address motor liability under the vehicle insurance rules. A tenant may also need insurance for the leased premises. Employers must arrange required employee protection, including the collective health scheme where applicable. These obligations do not automatically insure negligent advice, a defective deliverable, an intellectual-property claim, a data incident or a product defect. The founder should keep a separate matrix for premises, vehicles, employees, products, cyber risk, directors and professional services.

A client requirement also deserves careful classification. If a French customer asks for “professional insurance,” ask whether it wants liability for advice, liability for bodily or property damage at the customer’s site, product liability, cyber response, a contractual indemnity or evidence of construction cover. The certificate should answer the customer’s actual requirement. Buying the cheapest policy labelled RC Pro may leave a product business, an engineering service or a cross-border data operation outside its scope. Conversely, buying a construction policy does not insure all consultancy work performed by the same company.

Finally, mandatory insurance is not a liability shield. The company remains responsible for its contracts and torts. Insurance may fund a defence or indemnity within the policy; it does not authorise unsafe conduct, cure a regulatory breach or guarantee that every loss will be paid. The founder should treat the mandatory regime as the minimum legal floor and then decide what additional protection the business model requires.

II. How should a foreign founder check a French professional liability policy?

A. How should a foreign founder check a French professional liability policy?

The correct policy is identified by its wording, not by its title or the logo of the insurer. A French company should obtain the full policy documents, including the schedule, general conditions, special conditions, endorsements and certificate. The certificate is evidence of certain information; it is not normally a complete reproduction of all exclusions. The founder should ask the broker or insurer to confirm the answer to each point in writing and keep the response with the corporate records.

Start with the insured entity. The policy should name the French company as insured, or clearly extend cover to it as a subsidiary, branch, establishment or additional insured. Check the exact legal name, registered office and SIREN once available. If the entity is still in formation, ask whether cover can begin before registration and how acts signed during that period are treated. If the French company will employ staff, use subcontractors or receive services from the foreign parent, confirm which persons and entities are insured and whether the policy contains a group-company condition.

Next, define the activity. The wording should match what the company actually sells. “Consulting” may be insufficient where the company gives financial recommendations, engineering calculations, health advice, legal services, recruitment decisions, construction supervision or regulated insurance advice. List each service, each product and each professional qualification. Include ancillary services that may appear small but create significant exposure, such as implementation, installation, training, hosting, maintenance, testing, translation or handling of customer data. An activity missing from the schedule can become the central issue in a coverage dispute.

Then check the territory and jurisdiction. A foreign founder may have a policy issued in the parent’s home country that covers worldwide operations, but “worldwide” can be qualified by local-law exclusions, territorial definitions, sanctions clauses, admitted-insurance restrictions, claims-handling provisions and local compulsory-insurance rules. Ask whether the French subsidiary is insured for acts performed in France, claims brought in France, judgments issued by French courts and liability governed by French law. Ask whether employees travelling to France, French customers served remotely and French premises are included. A policy limited to the parent’s country cannot be assumed to cover a separate French legal person.

Separate the main families of cover before comparing prices:

Cover	What it usually addresses	Question for the foreign founder
RC Pro	Professional civil liability arising from services, advice, errors or omissions, within the policy wording	Are the French company’s actual services, customers and contractual liabilities included?
RC exploitation	Accidental bodily or property damage connected with day-to-day operations	Does it cover visits, premises, installations and employees working at a customer’s site?
Product liability	Damage caused by products after supply or delivery	Are imported, white-labelled, software-enabled or parent-manufactured products covered?
Decennial construction cover	Specific ten-year construction liability and related statutory proof requirements	Does the policy match the works, techniques, activities and opening dates of each site?
Cyber cover	Incident response and selected financial losses following a cyber event	Is liability to customers covered, or only the company’s own response costs?
Directors’ and officers’ cover	Personal claims against directors or officers, subject to its own wording	Are foreign directors, French managers and the relevant corporate decisions insured?

These covers can sit in one package, but they do not become interchangeable merely because one document has a broad heading. A software company may need RC Pro, cyber cover and product or technology errors cover. A trading company may need product liability, premises and transport cover. A construction company may need both ordinary professional liability and the compulsory construction regime. An insurer’s quotation should show the limits, sub-limits, excesses, waiting periods and exclusions for each relevant risk.

Read the claims trigger. Some policies are occurrence-based; others are claims-made or use a hybrid mechanism. Determine whether the claim must be made, the event must occur, or both must happen during the policy period. Ask about the retroactive date for services delivered before inception and the reporting period after cancellation. A French subsidiary created today may have inherited projects, proposals or warranties from the parent. A policy with no retroactive cover may not respond to an error made before its effective date, even if the customer complains after inception.

Check the limits against the contract. A customer’s indemnity clause may require a specific amount, but a policy may impose a lower sub-limit for financial loss, property in the insured’s custody, subcontractors, pollution, intellectual property, confidentiality or data. A deductible may be acceptable for a large corporate group and unacceptable for a newly funded subsidiary. Confirm whether defence costs erode the limit, whether settlements require insurer consent and whether the insurer can appoint French counsel. The company should also know who must notify a circumstance before it becomes a claim.

Exclusions require a legal reading. Article L. 113-1 of the French Insurance Code states that losses caused by the insured’s fault are borne by the insurer, “sauf exclusion formelle et limitée contenue dans la police”, subject to the rule on intentional or fraudulent fault. See Article L. 113-1 of the French Insurance Code. The words “professional liability” on the first page do not override an exclusion for a particular service, type of loss, territory or contractual assumption.

The Cour de cassation’s case law shows why the wording must be read as a whole. In Cour de cassation, Second Civil Chamber, 13 June 2019, no. 18-13.257, the Court examined an extension concerning the company’s liability in connection with a fault that was not separable from the directors’ functions. The case is a useful reminder that a clause defining the scope of an insured risk is not automatically an exclusion clause, and that the legal character of the wording affects the analysis under Article L. 113-1. The policy must therefore be analysed according to the actual claim, the insured risk and the clause relied upon by the insurer.

In Cour de cassation, Third Civil Chamber, 22 November 2018, no. 17-26.424, the dispute involved a construction company’s professional liability policy and several exclusions relating to work performed and delivered by the insured. The Court required an examination of whether the multiplication of exclusions deprived the guarantee of its object. The judgment is especially relevant when a French company receives a broad certificate but a policy contains several narrow exclusions. A certificate should never be reviewed without the general and special conditions behind it.

In Cour de cassation, Second Civil Chamber, 7 July 2022, no. 21-14.288, the Court recalled that an exclusion clause must refer to facts, circumstances or obligations with enough precision for the insured to know the exact extent of the cover. The Court ultimately treated the clause in that case as formal and limited, while also examining whether the facts fell within it. The lesson for a founder is practical: a clear clause can still apply to a clearly excluded situation, and a vague clause may trigger a dispute. The company should seek a written clarification before accepting a material exclusion.

A further construction example appears in Cour de cassation, Third Civil Chamber, 4 March 2021, no. 19-15.036. The case distinguishes damage to the work performed from damage caused to third parties and examines the operation of a professional liability policy alongside construction guarantees. The distinction is central to a foreign-owned contractor: a policy for accidental damage to a third party may not pay the cost of correcting the insured’s own defective performance. The founder should ask the insurer to identify, in plain terms, whether the policy pays for the defective deliverable itself, consequential loss, damage to other property, bodily injury, or only the defence of a claim.

Do not overlook intentional conduct, fraud and contractual fines. Article L. 113-1 excludes losses resulting from intentional or fraudulent fault. Contractual penalties, assumed guarantees, liquidated damages, taxes and criminal fines may receive separate treatment. A customer’s contract may transfer broad obligations to the French company, but the insurance policy may exclude liability assumed solely by contract. The company needs two documents: a contract-risk review and a policy-coverage review. Neither replaces the other.

Finally, verify renewal, cancellation and change-of-control terms. A French subsidiary may be sold, merged into the parent or converted from a branch. A material change in activity, turnover, territory, management or subcontracting may require notice. The founder should keep certificates for every relevant year, evidence of premium payment, the policy version in force at the time of each service, and all notices to the insurer. That evidence can determine whether a claim is funded years later.

B. What documents and remedies apply when the insurance certificate is refused?

A foreign founder should prepare the insurance submission as a legal and operational file, not as a short online questionnaire. An insurer or broker will commonly ask for the proposed company name, registered office, corporate form, ownership structure, activities, turnover forecast, customer countries, employees, subcontractors, premises, equipment, qualifications, prior claims and the desired limits. The Service-Public explanation of professional insurance also describes the activity, turnover, employees, premises, equipment and claims history as information used to assess the risk. In a cross-border structure, add the parent’s ownership chart and any existing group policy.

The core document pack should include the draft or signed articles of association, the company’s Kbis once registered, the SIREN and SIRET details, a concise activity memo, customer or framework contracts, subcontractor arrangements, technical qualifications, premises information and the foreign parent’s policy schedule if group cover is proposed. Explain who performs the work and where. If an employee in London, New York, Dubai or Geneva will provide services through the French company, identify the contractual chain. If the French company only invoices while the parent performs all work, explain that model instead of allowing the insurer to infer it.

Ask for two separate documents: a quotation or policy schedule and an insurance certificate. The certificate should show the insured entity, policy number, period, declared activity, territorial scope, limits and any legally required wording. For construction, Article L. 243-2 makes the certificate particularly important because it must accompany quotes and invoices. A generic letter stating “the group has insurance” will not necessarily satisfy a customer, a building owner, a public contracting authority or a court. Check the spelling of the French company’s name and the effective date before the first quotation leaves the company.

If a customer refuses a certificate, first establish whether the refusal is legal, contractual or administrative. A private customer may set a reasonable insurance requirement in its procurement terms, subject to the contract and applicable law. A public contracting authority may require evidence of compulsory construction cover or other qualifications. A professional regulator may ask for a specific certificate, financial guarantee or registration. The company should ask the refusing party to identify the missing limit, activity, territory or document. Replacing the certificate with a different policy without answering the stated objection often creates a second problem.

If an insurer refuses to cover a risk that is subject to a compulsory insurance regime, the Bureau central de tarification, or Central Pricing Office, may be relevant. However, its jurisdiction is limited. The Service-Public page explains that the mechanism applies to specified categories, including motor third-party liability, construction insurance, natural-catastrophe insurance, medical civil liability and certain tenant or co-ownership insurance. It is not a universal appeal route for an ordinary consultant who wants any insurer to accept a voluntary RC Pro policy. A company should document applications, refusals and dates before asking whether the BCT route is available.

For a construction risk, the founder should confirm the insurer’s authorisation and the exact activity classification before a site opens. The decision in Cour de cassation, Third Civil Chamber, 5 March 2020, no. 19-13.024 demonstrates the danger of an apparently valid certificate that was not backed by effective cover because the premium had not been paid as required. The Court’s reasoning refers to the owners’ ability to act because of “la non-souscription d’assurance”. A founder should obtain confirmation of policy inception, premium receipt and the exact work categories before committing the French company to a site.

When a claim arrives, preserve the full policy and certificate in force at the relevant time, the contract, quotations, invoices, technical files, email chronology and proof of notification. Do not admit liability or promise payment before notifying the insurer and obtaining advice on the policy’s cooperation requirements. A policy can require prompt notice, defence control, expert access or prior approval of settlement. A foreign parent should also preserve intercompany agreements because the insurer may ask whether the French entity acted independently, as agent, as contractor or as an internal service centre.

The underlying liability remains separate from insurance. For contractual non-performance or delay, Article 1231-1 of the French Civil Code provides for damages unless the debtor proves that performance was prevented by force majeure. The text uses the French expression “Le débiteur est condamné”. For damage caused outside a contract, Article 1240 states: “Tout fait quelconque de l’homme, qui cause à autrui un dommage”. See Article 1240 of the French Civil Code. A company can owe compensation even if the insurer disputes coverage, and an insurer can dispute coverage even though the company is liable to its customer.

Contract allocation matters as well. Article 1103 of the Civil Code states that “Les contrats légalement formés tiennent lieu de loi à ceux qui les ont faits”. The official provision is available at Article 1103 of the French Civil Code. A customer’s indemnity, limitation, warranty or insurance clause may create obligations between the parties, but it cannot rewrite the insurer’s policy. The company should compare the customer contract with the insurance contract before signing and negotiate wording that the policy can actually support.

Personal exposure should be assessed without assuming either extreme. A properly operated limited-liability company is a separate person, but the founder or director may incur personal exposure for pre-registration acts, personal guarantees, a personal tort, certain regulatory breaches or a fault that cannot be treated as an ordinary corporate act. Article 1843 matters for contracts signed before registration. The founder should not sign a customer indemnity personally merely because the insurer has not yet issued the certificate. If a bank, landlord or customer requests a personal guarantee, the scope, duration and release conditions should be reviewed separately.

Insurance premiums also have an accounting and tax dimension. A company under the real tax regime should retain invoices and show that the expense serves the business and is normally managed. The official impots.gouv.fr guidance on deductible professional expenses lists conditions including a direct business interest, normal management, accounting in the relevant period and supporting documents. The French tax administration’s BOFiP commentary on insurance premiums identifies professional civil liability and certain construction liability premiums as examples of professional charges when the applicable conditions are met. This is not a reason to buy a policy: tax treatment follows the actual risk and the company’s tax regime.

The following launch checklist is a useful minimum for a foreign founder:

1. Describe every service, product, customer category, territory and subcontracting arrangement in writing.
2. Identify every activity that is regulated or connected with construction, healthcare, insurance distribution, premises, vehicles or employees.
3. Ask the French registration adviser and the relevant professional authority whether a certificate or financial guarantee is required before operation, tendering or registration.
4. Obtain the full policy wording, not only a quotation, certificate or marketing summary.
5. Check the exact French legal entity, SIREN, establishment, parent and insured persons.
6. Check the territorial scope, French-law claims, court jurisdiction, retroactive date and post-cancellation reporting period.
7. Compare limits, excesses, sub-limits and exclusions with each important customer contract.
8. For construction, verify the activity classification, effective date, premium payment, site opening and certificate wording under Articles L. 241-1 and L. 243-2.
9. Keep certificates, policy versions and notices for each year, including during a group restructuring or change of control.
10. Notify circumstances promptly and obtain legal advice before admitting liability, settling or allowing a policy to lapse.

That checklist also gives the founder a way to diagnose an insurer’s refusal. If the refusal concerns an excluded activity, the business plan may need to change or a different policy may be necessary. If it concerns a missing document, provide the Kbis, activity memo, contract or qualification. If it concerns a compulsory risk, record the refusal and investigate the relevant regulatory pricing or appeal route. If it concerns a foreign group policy, ask for an endorsement naming the French company rather than relying on an informal confirmation.

The best time to resolve the certificate question is before the French company signs its first material contract. Incorporation can be completed quickly; correcting a wrong insured entity, an uncovered activity or a lapsed policy after a claim is far more difficult. A founder who treats insurance as part of the corporate launch file can align the Kbis, the contractual promises, the insurer’s underwriting record and the company’s actual operations from the start.

Conclusion

A foreign founder can often create an ordinary French company without purchasing ordinary RC Pro insurance as an incorporation prerequisite. The conclusion changes for regulated activities and for construction, healthcare or insurance distribution, where French law imposes specific obligations and proof requirements. Even where the law permits incorporation first, customers and authorities may require a certificate before the company can trade. The French entity, its activities, its territory, its effective date and its contractual obligations must all match the policy wording. A Kbis proves registration; it does not prove insurance. A certificate proves selected cover; it does not replace the policy. Before signing or operating, obtain the full wording, verify mandatory rules and preserve evidence of effective cover. If the structure includes a foreign parent, branch, employees or pre-registration contracts, review the group arrangements and personal commitments at the same time.

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