The French Insurance Market

The average person is subscribed to 5 insurance contracts, to cover their health, car, or home in France. We're here to help shed light on the Frecnch insurance market and explain how home insurance works in France and which offers suit you best.

The French insurance market

The French insurance market is as competitive as ever, with new actors entering the sector every year. As a result, you have a wide range of companies to choose from and every the traditional providers have to adapt and innovate in order to keep up with their newer rivals.

Here are the main type of insurers in France:

• The historic providers, that have been around for many years and that are well known by the French public. Axa, Groupama, MMA, GMF or Aviva and just some of them.
• The online providers, which as their name suggest deal operate online instead of through physical agencies. Direct Assurance, Amaguiz and Eurofil are the most well-known companies.
• Insurance brokers, which can set you up with competitively priced contracts or contacts including advantageous perks. AcommeAssure is one of them.
• The "bancassureurs" these French providers offer both insurance and banking contracts, as do LCL, La Banque Populaire, La Banque Postale, BNP Paribas, or CIC.

Why do I need insurance in France?

Insurance will provide you with financial support in situations where you face a risk or a tragic event which is mentioned in the contract you signed. For instance, car insurance will help you get money back if ever your car gets vandalised, or pet insurance will help cover medical bills if your cat gets sick.

In exchange for a monthly or annual payment to your insurer, you are guaranteed to be refunded or get any incurred fees covered as stated in your contract (exclusions, T&Cs or refund caps may apply).

In some cases - for a home or car - it is mandatory to sign up to a French insurance contract. In other cases, insurance is optional and can help you deal with undesirable occurrences, such as health insurance. This said, whatever your situation and for all the areas of your life, we always strongly recommend that you subscribe to an insurance plan!

Note that in order to be covered for the damage incurred, the event or what happened to the item covered has to be involuntary, unforeseen and stipulated in the contract's T&Cs.

Why are insurance offers all so differently priced?

You may notice that insurance rates can vary quite significantly from one provider to another, even for similar guarantees. This is mostly because companies set prices freely - all the more reason to compare offers!

This said, there are some factors that will undeniably impact your insurance premium:

Taxes: the French government imposes both a tax and a contribution to the Guarantee Fund on all insurance contracts. Rates depending on the contract signed, and are revised every year.

Your situation and profile: your age will automatically impact your insurance premium. For instance, a young driver will pay more for his or her car insurance, but an elderly person will have a higher health insurance premium! Other factors that can impact rates include your family and work situation or where you live or the place

The increase in observed risk: if for instance there is an increase in road accidents, insurers will likely increase the price of their car insurance. Similarly, if climate disasters increase in a certain region this will probably result in an increase in rates for home insurance.

There are also additional rate-impacting factors that are specific to each type of insurance, for example:

• For car insurance: the power of a car;
• Home insurance: in some cases, the presence or not of an alarm system/fire alarm;
• Health insurance: your personal health history;
• Loan insurance: the amount of a loan.

What are the cheapest insurance companies in France?

Thanks to the competitive market and the Hamon Law, which makes it very easy to cancel a home, car or motorcycle insurance contract at any given time, finding a cheap insurance scheme is easier than ever.

Here are a few tips to make the process simpler and to help you find that best insurance contract which provides the best value for money:

1. Look into online insurance: because they are void of physical agencies, these companies have lower operating fees to pay and thus can offer you very attractive tariffs!
2. Watch out for special deals: many insurers regularly offer discounts or a sponsorship programme that comes with a free month type of offer.
3. Compare offers: this is always the best way to find the cheapest contract! Investigate online comparison tool to help you find the one which will suit you best.

Comparing insurance providers

Finding a cheap insurance scheme, comparing T&Cs, negotiating with providers... All this can help you seal a cheap deal, but on the downside, it can all be very time-consuming. In order to make the process a lot easier and more efficient, your best bet is to use an online comparison tool!

Selectra is here to help -- we let you compare dozens of offers from our partner insurance providers and get free customised quotes in a matter of seconds. No need to go into agencies, you can get all of the process done, choose your offer and sign up, from the comfort of your own home!

From car insurance to travel, health or home insurance... We're here to let you compare, buy and save on all your insurance contracts!