These prices attract less attention than those of energy or food. However, insurance prices are part of the constrained expenses of French households and represent a budget which can be around 2,500 euros per year for a household that owns its home and two cars. Hence the interest shown in them by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire. In an interview with the specialist publication Insurance Arguson August 31, he launched an appeal for “moderation of prices for everyday insurance”.
On the same theme, Bercy had been heard in 2022, the insurance companies committing to containing the increase in premiums below inflation in 2022, then in 2023. The commitment “was held”underlines Franck Le Vallois, general director of France Assureurs, the sector federation, and “it remains relevant at the start of the 2023 school year”. However, for 2024, nothing is certain, and exchanges between the profession and Bercy continue.
However, some insurers warn that it will be ” very difficult “ to keep price increases below the overall level of price increases (+5% forecast on average for 2023 by INSEE). This diagnosis is validated by the forecasts of several independent research firms.
This general increase in prices is increasingly complicated to absorb, warn several insurers. “Because we are a mutual insurer, our margin rates are around 1% to 3% of equity, therefore extremely limited”explains Adrien Couret, general manager of the Aéma group (Macif, Aésio, Abeille Assurances).
Especially since none of the major areas of coverage are spared from rising costs. For multi-risk home insurance, the specialist consultancy firm Facts & Figures is forecasting a jump of 6% to 8% in prices, based on the sharp increase in costs in the building sector, on which part of the contracts are indexed. .
“The equation is becoming more and more complex”
But it is especially on car insurance that insurers are focusing. “On leaving [de la pandémie de Covid-19], we had frozen our prices for the year 2021. The changes were subsequently contained. Today, the equation is more and more complex”underlines Nicolas Gomart, the general director of Matmut.
The surge in repair costs reached 8.42% over one year, according to the professional association Automotive Safety and Repair (SRA). A figure which allows insurers to denounce the ten-year monopoly that manufacturers and equipment manufacturers retain on some spare parts, notably mirrors and headlights.
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