Faute de preuve, l’assureur refuse l’indemnisation.

the proof

Breakdown of Faute de preuve, l’assureur refuse l’indemnisation.

• refuser: to refuse
• l’assureur: the insurer
• l’indemnisation: the insurance payout

Questions & Answers about Faute de preuve, l’assureur refuse l’indemnisation.

What does faute de mean here? Does it literally mean fault of?

Here, faute de is a fixed expression meaning for lack of, in the absence of, or because there is no.

So:

• Faute de preuve = for lack of evidence / because there is no proof

Even though faute often means fault in other contexts, that is not the meaning here. In this expression, it is idiomatic.

For example:

• Faute de temps, je ne viendrai pas. = For lack of time, I won’t come.
• Faute d’argent, ils ont abandonné le projet. = For lack of money, they gave up the project.

So in your sentence, faute de introduces the reason why the insurer refuses compensation.

Why is it preuve and not une preuve or de la preuve?

After faute de, French usually uses the noun without an article.

So you commonly get:

• faute de preuve
• faute de temps
• faute d’argent
• faute de moyens

This structure expresses a general absence of something, not one specific item.

So faute de preuve does not mean because of one missing proof. It means because there is insufficient evidence / because evidence is lacking.

Why is there an apostrophe in l’assureur?