Borrower insurance, a market under pressure since 2022

Lemoine Law and borrower insurance: what results four years later?

The health questionnaire is no longer required when the insured portion, all property loans combined, does not exceed 200,000 euros per insured and the reimbursement ends before the borrower's 60th birthday. The insurer cannot then collect any health information. The right to be forgotten applies five years after the end of the therapeutic protocol in the case of cancer or hepatitis C, without relapse. Four years later, the reform has mainly changed the way in which the market competes, more than its distribution.

Benchmarks: four laws to open up the delegation market

2010: Lagarde law (law of July 1, 2010). The borrower can choose, upon subscribing to the loan, a contract other than the group insurance of his bank, provided that it presents an equivalent level of guarantees.

2014: Hamon law (law of March 17, 2014). The borrower can change insurance during the twelve months following signing the loan offer.

2018: Bourquin amendment (law of February 21, 2017, applicable from January 1, 2018). Termination becomes possible each year, on the contract expiry date, for all current loans.

2022: Lemoine law (law of February 28, 2022). Cancellation becomes possible at any time, free of charge.

Insurers facing a risk that is more difficult to assess

The end of the health questionnaire requires insurers to pool, on part of the files, a risk that they can no longer assess individually. In its report published in January 2024, the Financial Sector Advisory Committee (CCSF) notes a preventive increase in prices of around on average 10% on the external alternative contracts concerned, certain insurers having chosen not to increase their prices. Some insurers have also introduced, into contracts without medical selection, exclusion clauses linked to previous pathologies, a contested practice. This results in price differences depending on the age of the borrower and the characteristics of the loan.

The reform has strengthened competition between group contracts, offered by banks when credit is granted, and so-called “alternative” insurers. It is now possible for borrowers to change insurer at any time during the life of their loan.

However, volumes remain modest. According to the CCSF's report from January 2024, the market share of external alternative contracts increased from 15.3% at the end of 2021 to 16.1% at the end of May 2023. In its opinion adopted on May 26, 2026, the CCSF reported a share of 17.48% in 2024. Contracts distributed by banks therefore remain largely in the majority. The clearest change concerns the moment of choice: the CCSF notes an increase of more than 80% in substitution requests between 2021 and the first half of 2023.

Machine-translated from French