Assurance emprunteur is the borrower insurance French banks require in practice, covering death and disability and often incapacity for work. You can choose an insurer other than the bank's if the cover is equivalent, and since 2022 you can switch at any time. No health questionnaire may be asked when the insured amount is €200,000 or less per person and the loan ends before your 60th birthday. Its cost counts in the all-in rate, so for older borrowers it can decide whether a loan fits under the legal cap.
What the bank requires
The assurance emprunteur (borrower insurance) repays the loan, in full or in part, if a borrower dies or cannot work. Banks can require it and decide which risks it must cover, and in practice they do. They set out the minimum cover in a standard information sheet. The risks they can ask for are:
- death
- total and irreversible loss of autonomy (PTIA)
- permanent disability
- temporary incapacity for work
Job-loss cover is optional. With two borrowers, each chooses a cover share, the quotité. At 100% each, the whole loan is repaid if either dies. At 50% each, half is repaid.
Choosing your own insurer: délégation
You do not have to take the bank's group policy. Taking cover elsewhere is called délégation d'assurance, and the bank must accept a policy whose cover is equivalent to its requirements. If you choose an external insurer, the bank cannot change the loan's conditions in return.
Since the Lemoine law of 28 February 2022, you can also switch insurer at any time during the loan, without charge. The bank must reply within 10 working days of receiving your complete request, give reasons if it refuses, and remind you each year of your right to change. When you live abroad, check that the insurer you choose accepts borrowers in your country of residence.
Health questions and the €200,000 rule
No health questionnaire or medical examination may be required when the insured amount is €200,000 or less per person and the loan is due to end before your 60th birthday. Above either limit, expect health questions and possibly a medical.
People who have had cancer or hepatitis C do not have to declare it once five years have passed since the end of treatment without relapse, provided the loan ends before their 71st birthday. For other health histories, the AERAS convention gives a framework for applications with a higher risk, although it does not oblige an insurer to cover you. Raise any health issue early, since underwriting often sets the pace of the whole file.
Worked example: insurance at 63
Assumptions: a borrower aged 63 borrows €250,000 over 15 years at a fixed 3.50%, with a €1,000 arrangement fee and a €2,500 guarantee. The repayment before insurance is €1,787.21 a month. Insurance is charged on the amount borrowed, and the rates below are illustrations, not quotes.
- Bank group policy at 0.60% a year: €125 a month, €22,500 over the term. The TAEG is about 4.81%, above this quarter's 4.68% cap for loans of 10 to under 20 years, so the bank cannot lend on these terms.
- External policy at 0.45% a year: €93.75 a month, €16,875 over the term. The TAEG is about 4.55%, under the cap.
The switch saves €5,625 and turns a loan the bank could not make into one it can. Because the insured amount is above €200,000 and the loan ends after the borrower turns 60, health questions apply with either insurer.
How the premium affects the loan
The premium counts twice. It is part of your monthly outgoings in the 35% debt-to-income test, and it is part of the TAEG, which must stay under the taux d'usure. Group policies usually charge a fixed percentage of the amount borrowed, so the premium stays the same while the debt falls. Some external policies charge on the capital remaining instead, so the premium falls over the years.
Ask the broker to quote external cover alongside the bank's from the start, so the TAEG in your offer already reflects the cheaper policy. The calculator lets you change the insurance rate and see the effect on the monthly cost and the all-in rate.
Next step
Tell us your age and the amount you want to borrow in the eligibility check. The broker we introduce you to will check the insurance cost against the cap before the file goes to a bank.
Questions
Is borrower insurance compulsory for a French mortgage?
French banks require it in practice, covering at least death and disability. You can choose an insurer other than the bank's if the cover is equivalent.
Can I change my French mortgage insurance?
Yes, at any time since the Lemoine law of 2022 and without charge, provided the new policy offers equivalent cover. The bank must reply within 10 working days.
When is a health questionnaire not required in France?
When the insured amount is €200,000 or less per person and the loan ends before your 60th birthday.
Why does insurance matter for the taux d'usure?
Its cost counts in the TAEG, the all-in rate tested against the legal cap. Expensive insurance can push a loan over the cap.