Termination of borrower insurance at any time has been possible thanks to the Lemoine law since June 1 for new loan offers issued since that date. For all other borrowers who took out their loan before June 1, 2022, this will be possible very soon from September 1. No need to wait for the anniversary date of the loan, you can even start the simulations now to compare the current cost of your borrower insurance with the offers of other insurers and thus save money. The only condition is to present an offer with equivalent guarantees.
To make your choice, you can count on many online insurance comparators, some of which have improved their customer experience for the occasion. An influx of requests is also expected by professionals from September. It is borrowers who have taken out group insurance from their bank who will be able to make the most significant savings because alternative insurers can offer rates up to 2 or 3 times cheaper with equivalent guarantees.
From single to triple
The insurance broker and comparator Magnolia.fr cites the example of buyers aged 40 borrowing €250,000 over 25 years to purchase their main residence. Subscribing to delegation insurance costs them only €7,500 with a rate of 0.12%, compared to €22,500 if they opt for the group insurance offered by the bank at a rate of 0.36%. The total saving over the duration of the loan thus represents €15,000.
The consequences of the end of the medical questionnaire
The other major regulatory change in force since June concerns the end of the medical questionnaire for borrower insurance for loans of less than €200,000 (or €400,000 for a couple in a 50/50 ratio), once the due date repayment of the credit is prior to the 60th birthday of the insured. This applies, for example, to borrowers whose age does not exceed 45 years for a 15-year loan, 40 years for a 20-year loan or 35 years for a 25-year loan. For this category of borrower, changing insurance becomes even easier and faster.
Many financings will be affected by this absence of a medical questionnaire which can generate significant additional costs depending on the health history of the insured, even exclusions of guarantees or even refusal of insurance. As a result, insurers will no longer be able to carry out medical selection on part of the contracts and will have no choice but to pool the risk to replace the additional premiums and partial exclusions. This pooling of risk is rightly defended by the banks and explains why the rates of bank insurance are more expensive than those of alternative insurers, personalized according to each profile.
Smokers are penalized
” Without any health data on this segment to support their pricing, insurers are forced to pool risks, to the detriment of young and healthy profiles who usually pay the least for their loan insurance. Professionals speak of an increase in rates between 5% and 20%, which penalizes young workers often with lower incomes than other borrowers “, explained to us at the end of June Astrid Cousin, spokesperson for the insurance comparator Magnolia.fr.
” The subscription form has evolved to include data previously entered in the health questionnaire: smoking and the practice of a dangerous sport. Occupational risks are another major factor, such as travel. For example, those who smoke and drive a lot will pay dearly for their insurance if they do not have to fill out a health questionnaire. “, adds Astrid Cousin.
To be accompanied
In practice, it is better to be accompanied by a broker. Once you have selected a new insurance, you must send your bank a substitution request by registered letter with AR, accompanied by the new contract. The bank must formulate its response within 10 working days of receipt of the letter. The acceptance is subordinated to the equivalence of level of guarantees, any refusal of the lender having to be justified in writing in an exhaustive and explicit way.
to know
Another change brought about by the Lemoine law, the time limit for benefiting from the right to be forgotten, which concerns people cured of cancer or hepatitis C, has been reduced from 10 years to 5 years after the end of the protocol. The obligations to inform policyholders of their right to cancellation have also been significantly strengthened: insurers must inform them each year of the existence of this right and of the procedures for its implementation.