assurances

English translation: the insurance company (-ies)

12:54 Nov 19, 2016

French to English translations [Non-PRO]
Law/Patents - Law: Contract(s) / contrat de maitrise d’ouvrage déléguée

French term or phrase: assurances

Hi all,
I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the meaning of the "assurances" in this context :

"Les Parties concluront avec le Notaire des Cédants, à la Date de Réalisation, une convention de séquestre financier (la "Convention de Séquestre Suivi Travaux") dont un modèle figure en Annexe 8.2 d'un montant de six millions d’euros (6.000.000 €) prélevé sur le Prix (le "Séquestre Suivi Travaux"), étant précisé que le Séquestre Suivi Travaux sera libéré en faveur des Cédants dans les conditions suivantes :
...
...
à hauteur de six cent mille euros (EUR 600.000 €), libérés comme suit :
- quatre cent quatre-vingt mille euros (480.000 €) dans les dix (10) Jours Ouvrés de l’expiration de l'année de garantie de parfait achèvement délivrée par le Promoteur ;
- cent vingt mille euros (120.000 €) dans les dix (10) Jours Ouvrés de la levée des désordres ou de la prise en charge par les *****assurances***** relatives aux articles 1792 et suivants du Code civil des travaux de réparation."cent vingt mille euros (120.000 €) dans les dix (10) Jours Ouvrés de la levée des désordres ou de la prise en charge par les assurances relatives aux articles 1792 et suivants du Code civil des travaux de réparation."

So, I see two possible interpretations for "assurances" here:
1) within ten (10) Business Days of the waiver for damages or of the coverage by the insurance (policies) in relation to Articles 1792 et seq. of the Civil Code of the repair work."
2) within ten (10) Business Days of the waiver for damages or of the coverage by the assurances (i.e. guarantees) relating to Articles 1792 et seq. of the Civil Code of repair work."

Any help in understanding this would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers !

Jeffrey Henson KudoZ activity Questions: 81 (6 open) (2 without valid answers) (5 closed without grading) Answers: 37 France
Local time: 22:39

English translation:the insurance company (-ies)

Explanation:
it simply means that the prejudice/loss, whatever, will be covered by the insurance company (-ies). It is a rather slack formulation as it actually means the insurance policy (-ies) taken out by insured parties.

I have not consulted the official text referred to in the same sentence. That would be the first place to look to check for meaning. In any event , this is about being covered. in the context of construction, it is usually 'indemnity' insurance cover.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2016-11-19 17:24:22 GMT)
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Having consulted article 1792 of the French 'Code civil', one runs into another slightly inaccurate formulation in the source text. When one reads "articles 1792 et suivants du Code civil des travaux de réparation", the impression is that this is a reference to a civil code specific to repair work. It is in fact referring to part of the civil code which governs liability between various parties. Yes, this is about liability, warranties and indemnity. That is all correct. However, to respect the tone of the original, quirks an' all, the terms liability, warranty or indemnity are not used. The sources text uses a far more generic term, in fact quite a familiar term for insurance generally. I think you need to go along with that generality in your translation.

Selected response from:

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 22:39

Grading comment

Thanks so much for your help, Nikki !
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +5

the insurance company (-ies)

Nikki Scott-Despaigne

guarantees (your second choice)

ph-b (X)

4 +1

warranties

B D Finch

Discussion entries: 4

Answers

38 mins confidence:

assurances (here) guarantees (your second choice)

Explanation:
Article 1792 of the code civil
Tout constructeur d'un ouvrage est responsable de plein droit, envers le maître ou l'acquéreur de l'ouvrage, des dommages, même résultant d'un vice du sol, qui compromettent la solidité de l'ouvrage ou qui, l'affectant dans l'un de ses éléments constitutifs ou l'un de ses éléments d'équipement, le rendent impropre à sa destination.
Une telle responsabilité n'a point lieu si le constructeur prouve que les dommages proviennent d'une cause étrangère.
(https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle.do?idArticl...

I can’t see any insurance policy mentioned here; the article just says that the builder is liable (to X), which of course implies first and foremost that he ‘promises’/'guarantees to' to indemnify (X) (and that, of course, he’d better be insured in that respect but the article doesn’t actually say so).

In fact, assurances (in the plural) as employed in your text looks very much like this definition (emphasis mine): C. P. méton., le plus souvent au plur. Affirmation, protestation, promesse propres à garantir quelque chose
(http://atilf.atilf.fr/dendien/scripts/tlfiv5/visusel.exe?86;... )

Your second choice ("guarantees") looks right to me.

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Note added at 1 hr (2016-11-19 14:38:13 GMT)
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I have to say that prise en charge makes me wonder… This is indeed usually followed by “insurance cover/contract/policy/company, etc.”, in which case your first choice - and Nikki’s answer - would be right.

However, as a native speaker and insurance translator, I think it is the first time that I’ve seen insurance companies referred to as les assurances in a contract(?) or legal text. It is common enough in non-specialist texts or everyday conversations, but I am surprised to see it used like that in a text written by (I suppose) lawyers.

I think both your choices are possible here. Any chance you could ask your client?

ph-b (X)
France
Local time: 22:39
Native speaker of: French

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thanks very much for your help, PH !

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

neutral

B D Finch: Read on: builders are under a legal obligation to provide insurance-backed warranties.//See note added to my answer. This is my specialist field, having previously worked managing housing development projects.

1 hr

-> Sorry, can't find it. Source?/Fine, thanks + already agreed to 'warranties'. I did hint at the need for insurance in my answer but let's agree ST doesn't explicitly mention insurance (subject to my note added at 1 hr).

neutral

writeaway: fyi: Larousse: les assurances insurance companies/I realised immediately afterwards that sous is wrong. but I think general dictionaries can be useful to help confirm or reject a possible translation.

1 hr

-> Thank you, but please refer to my note re les assurances + I don't use general dictionaries for legal translations. Also, in your comment to B D Finch, sous les assurances doesn't exist in French, so can't use this./That's your choice. :-)

neutral

Nikki Scott-Despaigne: I think all of your remarks are pertinent. I have no pb with actually enhancing a text in its EN version. The difficulty is repsecting the tone of the original and the source text is couched in unusual terms, which is where I think we both agree!

4 hrs

34 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

assurances (here) warranties

Explanation:
This is about liability being accepted (by the insurers) under the statutory warranties on building works: "... assurances relatives aux articles 1792 et suivants du Code civil des travaux de réparation".

So I would translate "assurances" here as "warranties", not as meaning the insurance companies themselves, even though they are the insurance providers.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2016-11-19 14:59:21 GMT)
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https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assurance_décennale_(France)
"L'obligation d'assurances> procède en réalité des articles L241 et suivants du Code des assurances ; elle ne s'applique qu'aux ouvrages de bâtiment (voir détail).

"L'assurance dommage ouvrage est obligatoire pour le maître de l'ouvrage (particulier, promoteur ou syndicat de copropriétaires)1;
"L'assurance de responsabilité décennale est obligatoire pour le maître d'œuvre.

"Pour le bâtiment, la jurisprudence a établi que l'assurance doit être souscrite selon les principes dont s'inspirent les articles 1792 et suivants du Code civil. En d'autres termes, l'assureur ne pourra pas prévoir de clause(s) qui limitent l'indemnité sous risque d'être débouté devant le juge."

www.nhbc.co.uk › Warranties and cover
"We are the leading warranty and insurance provider for new and newly-converted homes in the UK. Buildmark is the name of our 10 year warranty and ..."

www.new-homes.co.uk/why-buy-new/customer-protection/
Buying a new build home gives purchasers a level of protection that they simply would not get when buying a second-hand home. A 10-year warranty and a ...

BTW, I spent 10 years developing new social housing projects with Buildmark, or equivalent, warranties.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2016-11-19 15:28:39 GMT)
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See also: Code des Assurances Art. L. 242-1

https://goo.gl/hmExhF

B D Finch
France
Local time: 22:39
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 369

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thanks again for your help BD !

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

ph-b (X): with 'warranties'. @ writeaway: my feeling as a native speaker is that "stés d'ass./contrats d'ass." would have been the proper way of drafting it if it had been the intended meaning - lots of examples in code civil/code des assurances

4 mins

-> Thanks

neutral

writeaway: it says par les assurance, pas sous les assurances and anyway, garantie is usually the French word for warranty, non? /I don't agree with you at all here I'm afraid.

29 mins

-> Non ! Try looking up "assurance décennale" and the UK's similar 10-year warranty on new-build. Also, check out my link above to the French legislation.

neutral

Nikki Scott-Despaigne: Same comment as for ph-b. Pertinent and no doubt accurate remarks. Hwvr, remaining faithful to the tone of the original, quirks and all, I think we have to remain generic.

4 hrs

11 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +5

les assurances

the insurance company (-ies)

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 22:39
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 172

Grading comment

Thanks so much for your help, Nikki !

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

writeaway: la prise en charge par les *****assurances* makes it rather obvious/clear, I'd have thought

50 mins

agree

ph-b (X): I feel "stés d'ass./contrats d'ass." would have been the proper way of drafting it if "ins. co." had been the intended meaning (lots of examples in code civil/code des assurances), but you could be right (see note added in my answer below).

1 hr

-> Quite. The source text is not drafted in a helpful way. One cld even be forgiven for thinking that there is a Code civil des travaux de réparation. A generic term, rather than a specific one matches the register of the French original.

agree

AllegroTrans

2 hrs

agree

Chakib Roula

3 hrs

agree

Tony M: I don't think it's quite so much a matter of the companies, as the insurance cover in general — we'd probably use it as the non-countable 'insurance' here in EN, whence perhaps the temptation to add a countable complement.

5 hrs

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