Earthquakes, floods and other catastrophic events
Since 2020 Morocco has had a national scheme for earthquakes, floods and other disasters. If you hold a home or motor policy you are covered automatically. If you do not, a public fund pays a smaller, limited amount.
Included automatically
At a glance
- Who needs it
- Everyone who holds a motor or property policy, automatically. Uninsured victims, through the solidarity fund
- What it pays
- Up to 2 million MAD for a home and 200,000 MAD for a vehicle, after a deductible of 10%
- Key deadline
- Insured: tell your insurer within 60 days. Uninsured: register within 90 days of the official declaration
- Legal basis
- Law 110-14, in force since 1 January 2020, amended by law 43-24
- Who runs it
- Insurers for policyholders. The FSEC, a public solidarity fund, for people without insurance
How the scheme works
Law 110-14 created a scheme with two parts. The French abbreviation you will see on contracts is EVCAT, for événements catastrophiques.
- An insurance part. A guarantee against catastrophic events is added by law to every motor policy and to every policy that covers property, such as home and business multi-risk contracts.
- A solidarity part. A public fund, the FSEC, compensates victims who have no insurance, within narrower limits.
The scheme covers natural events, mainly earthquakes, floods and tsunamis, and violent human acts such as terrorism and riots.
Nothing is paid until the event is officially recognised. The Head of Government issues an order that declares the event catastrophic, names the areas affected and gives the dates. The order must be published within three months of the event. The Al Haouz earthquake of September 2023 was the first event declared under the scheme.
One disaster, two very different paths
You hold a home or motor policy
You have no insurance
If you are insured
The guarantee pays for damage to the property insured in your contract, up to a ceiling and after a deductible set by regulation.
| Insured property | Ceiling per event | Deductible |
|---|---|---|
| Home | 2,000,000 MAD | 10% of the damage, 7,000 MAD at least |
| Vehicle | 200,000 MAD | 10% of the damage, 3,000 MAD at least |
| Industrial, commercial or hospital building | 5,000,000 MAD | 15% of the damage, 20,000 MAD at least |
| Other building | 3,000,000 MAD | 15% of the damage, 20,000 MAD at least |
| Other property | 1,000,000 MAD | As set in the regulation |
The payout cannot exceed the sum insured in your contract. A home insured for 400,000 MAD is paid on that basis, whatever the ceiling.
National limits apply to each event and to each year: 3 billion MAD per natural event and 9 billion MAD per year, and 300 million MAD per event and 600 million MAD per year for human acts. If total claims exceed these limits, every payout is reduced in the same proportion.
If you are not insured
The solidarity fund, FSEC, helps victims who hold no insurance covering the loss. It pays for two things only.
- Bodily injury. Compensation for permanent disability or death, calculated on the scale used for insured victims and paid at up to 70% of it.
- Loss of the main home. When your main residence becomes uninhabitable, compensation of up to 250,000 MAD.
Vehicles, furniture, second homes and business property are not compensated by the fund.
To claim, you must first be entered in the register of victims within 90 days of the publication of the order declaring the event. Registration is done with the local authorities or on the fund's website.
Steps after a disaster
- Put yourself and your family out of danger. Do not go back into a damaged building before the authorities allow it.
- Photograph the damage as soon as it is safe. Keep damaged items when you can.
- Find your contracts, or ask your agent, broker or bank for copies.
- If you are insured, declare the damage to your insurer as soon as you can, and within 60 days at the latest. Do not wait for the official declaration. Since law 43-24 the time limit is 60 days instead of 20.
- If you are not insured, register as a victim within 90 days, then send your claim to the FSEC.
- Let the adjuster assess the damage before permanent repairs. Emergency measures to protect the property are allowed: keep the invoices.
Questions
My home policy mentions earthquakes nowhere. Am I covered?
Yes. The catastrophic-events guarantee is added by law to every property contract and shows as a separate line on your premium notice.
A storm flooded my street, but no order was published. Who pays?
Not the catastrophic-events guarantee, which needs the official declaration. Your contract pays only if it includes flood or natural events as an ordinary guarantee. Check the special conditions.
I only have compulsory liability cover for my car. Does the guarantee pay for the car?
The guarantee attached to liability cover is designed first for the people in the vehicle. Whether damage to the vehicle itself is paid depends on the guarantees in your contract, so ask your insurer in writing.
I am a tenant. What is covered?
Your insured contents, under your own home policy. The building is covered by the owner's policy. If you have no insurance and the home was your main residence, ask the FSEC what you are entitled to.
Can the payout be lower than the table shows?
Yes, in three cases: when your sum insured is lower than the damage, when the damage is below the deductible, and when national limits are exceeded and all payouts are reduced.
Where can I check whether an event has been declared?
On the FSEC website and in the Official Bulletin. Your insurer and your local authorities also relay the information.