Insurers charge illegal fees: policyholders can claim compulsory reimbursement

All French people must pay them every year. As everyone knows, home or auto insurance is necessary for anyone who wants to live in a home or own and drive a vehicle. But if paying the bill is an imperative, the method of payment is however at the discretion of the insured.

Most homeowners and tenants pay their home insurance premium by direct debit. The amount they owe is then taken directly from their bank account, once a year or once a month depending on the terms of the contract signed with the insurance company. The same goes for drivers with car or motorcycle insurance.

However, an insured person has the right to refuse direct debit and instead opt for payment by bank transfer or check. This principle nevertheless had to be recalled on October 6 by the Insurance Mediation. This independent organization, offering a free service, arbitrated a dispute between an insured and his insurance company.

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Since January 1, 2026, the customer has been subject to an increase of 1% on his home insurance premium and his automobile insurance premium simply because he refused the automatic debit. He preferred to pay by transfer. Clearly, instead of charging 300 euros per year for home insurance and 880 euros for car insurance, the company demanded from the insured 11.80 euros more over the year.

However, "if the Insurance Code allows insurers to freely set their prices and the methods for calculating contributions, they cannot however deviate from the Monetary and Financial Code", indicates Arnaud Chneiweiss, Insurance Ombudsman.

Article L. 112-12 of this text precisely specifies that "the beneficiary of a payment cannot apply additional costs for the use of a particular payment instrument". On this basis, the Insurance Mediation considered that the 1% increase constituted “an additional cost directly linked to the use of a payment instrument other than direct debit” and could amount to a “disguised penalty”. The mediator therefore asked the insurer to remove this increase and return to his client the amount unduly collected.

Furthermore, Arnaud Chneiweiss recommends that policyholders who do not pay their insurance contributions via direct debit carefully check the due date notice sent by the insurance companies. This document displays the details of the invoice claimed by the insurer. If the terms "payment surcharge excluding direct debit", "card management fees" or "transfer supplement" are mentioned, this surely means that insurance companies are charging undue fees. Policyholders can then dispute these costs by sending a written complaint to their insurer.

The letter, sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt, must identify each contract concerned, state the amounts deducted for the increase, then cite article L. 112-12 of the Monetary and Financial Code, before requesting the cancellation of the increase and the restitution of the sums.

If the company refuses or does not respond, the insured can then contact the insurance mediator under article L. 612-1 of the Consumer Code.

Machine-translated from French