BORROWER INSURANCE 2022. Borrower insurance is revolutionizing this Wednesday, June 1st. Termination at any time, medical questionnaire… We tell you everything.
[Mis à jour le 1er juin 2022 à 09h36] It’s D-Day! Borrower insurance takes a new turn from this Wednesday, June 1. Indeed, since this morning, it is now possible to terminate your contract at any time home loan ! Impossible until then, you had to wait for the anniversary date of the contract to try to compete. From now on, you have the possibility of comparing the offers and of going to see if the prices are more interesting at a competitor so as to make some savings. A measure valid for new contracts from June 1, 2022. For current contracts, you will have to wait until September 1, 2022 to benefit from the same evolution. Another novelty, and of size, the medical questionnaire is deleted ! This is news that should delight some policyholders, especially patients suffering from cancer, mental or respiratory conditions. In other words, these people will no longer have the obligation to declare their illness. This reform applies to loans less than 200,000 euros if the maturity of the loan arrives before the 60th birthday of the borrower concerned.
Using a borrower insurance contract may be required by your bank when you want to make a mortgage. This contract makes it possible to take charge of the partial or total repayment of your monthly loan payments when you are temporarily incapacitated for work, in permanent disability, in total and irreversible loss of autonomy, or else, in the event of death. Not mandatory from a legal point of view, it is systematically required by your financial institution in order to cover itself in the event of default on your part.
Individual or group insurance contract for real estate loans, borrower insurance guarantees the repayment of a loan. This insurance is both a security for the people who borrow, as well as for the lending organization, in particular the banks. Borrower insurance covers the payment of all or part of the repayment deadlines for the outstanding credit when you are in certain situations such as permanent disability, loss of your job or even death.
Borrower insurance is a security for both parties: it covers the insured (in whole or in part) in the event of difficulties in paying the monthly installments of the credit, on the other hand it protects the financial institution which will be compensated in the event of default by the insured.
Parliament adopted on Thursday 17 February 2022 the termination of borrower insurance at any time. In other words, a borrower can now terminate his mortgage contract at any time, while he was obliged to wait for the anniversary date until then. The goal? Create greater competition to drive down costs for consumers. The date of entry into force of this termination at any time of the borrower insurance is known, the June 1, 2022 for new contractsSeptember 1 for current contracts.
It does not stop there, insurers now have, with this reform, the obligation to reinforce information with regard to borrowers regarding their right to terminate before the anniversary date of their contract. In addition, all of the grounds for refusal will now have to be explained and press releases to borrowers, as soon as a termination is refused. A big blow, in particular for the banking establishments which hold 88% of this juicy market. In the future, the banks will have to share the cake.
The medical questionnaire was a central issue during the lively debates between deputies and senators. Now the medical questionnaire will be deleted for loans of less than €200,000until €400,000 for a couple. Please note that this new measure will only apply if, and only if, the maturity of the loan is scheduled before 60th birthday of the insured.
This new measure represents significant progress for all patients suffering from pathologies cancerous, psychic Where respiratory, among others. Before the reform, these borrowers were obliged to declare their illness, which necessarily generated a significant increase in the amount of their insurance. It is now ancient history with this removal of the medical questionnaire, which more than half of borrowers would be concerned.
Do you want to know your borrowing capacity according to interest rates? Visit the website of Public service to know your potential mortgage, the amount of your borrower insurance, the duration of the credit as well as the desired monthly payments. You will find the right form here.
The rate of borrower insurance varies greatly from one contract to another, depending on the amount borrowed, the duration of the contract, but also the age and state of health of the borrower. The Effective Annual Insurance Rate (TAEA) represents the cost of borrower insurance, as a percentage of the total amount of the mortgage. For example, a rate of 0.5% represents an annual contribution cost of 0.5% of the capital borrowed (and not of the capital remaining to be repaid).
Here is an estimate of the mortgage loan insurance rates applied according to the profile of the borrower, according to the broker Empruntis:
| Borrower profile | Mortgage loan insurance rates |
|---|---|
| 20 years non-smoker | 0.05% |
| 20 year old smoker | 0.08% |
| 30 years non-smoker | 0.09% |
| 30 years old smoker | 0.13% |
| 40 years old non-smoker | 0.17% |
| 40 year old smoker | 0.25% |
| 50 years old non-smoker | 0.31% |
| 50 year old smoker | 0.33% |
During the first year of the contract, the consumer can change insurance at any time (at the latest 15 days before the end of the 12 months). After the first year, he must wait for the expiry date of the contract. He can then change insurance at any date. Indeed, the termination at any time of the borrower insurance came into force on Thursday, January 17, 2022.
Unlike car insurance or Home Insurancehome loan insurance is not not mandatory. But in fact, it is systematically required by the lender granting you a mortgage. If you wish to escape this insurance, you can pledge your property, but this is generally only accepted for borrowers with high assets.
When the insurance is optional, depending on the amount borrowed and the repayment period, the borrower may have an interest in subscribing to it in order to be able to repay his monthly payments in the event ofaccident of life.
You have completed your treatment against a cancer or facing theHepatitis C and you are in remission ? Double good news, the reduced right to be forgotten was also adopted! You won’t have to wait any longer 5 years after your remission so that you no longer have to declare it to your insurer. Previously, this time was 10 years. It is therefore halved as part of the borrower insurance reform. The period during which additional costs can be charged to the policyholder is therefore much shorter, which should enable policyholders to save money.
Borrower insurance mainly covers three types of risk: the risk of death, the risk of disability and the risk of job loss. In case of death of the insured, the insurer reimburses the remaining capital to the financial institution. Warranty disability “may relate to functional disability, the inability to exercise a professional activity or the total and irreversible loss of autonomy”, specifies the French Insurance Federation. In this case, the insurer reimburses all or part of the remaining capital according to the contract taken out by the insured. There is also a guarantee against the loss of a job. Depending on your contract, the insurer will reimburse all or part of the remaining capital to the financial institution.
The bank with which you take out a loan generally offers you a borrower insurance contract. If subscribing to this contract is convenient, it is not necessarily the best financial solution.
Another solution is to choose a contract yourself from an insurer. It’s called delegation of insurance.. By this means, it is possible to obtain a more interesting contract. Important detail, if you choose this way the contract “presented [à l’établissement de crédit] must present a level of guarantee equivalent to the insurance contract offered by the credit institution”, reminds the French Insurance Federation. If this is the case, the financial institution in which you took out your loan will not be able to refuse it.
During the progress of your loan file, the credit institution generally gives you a standardized information sheet (FSI). “This sheet presents in particular the insurance guarantees required by the credit organization for the granting of a loan, as well as a quantified example of the cost of insurance”, explains the French Federation of insurance. This standard form precedes the delivery of a personalized file linked to your credit file.
The personalized sheet is essential if you choose another insurer than the one offered by your financial institution. It will allow you to compare the offers and ensure that the level of insurance is similar between the contract to which you subscribe and that offered by the financial institution. Once the borrower insurance has been taken out, you will have to submit the insurer’s file to the credit institution so that it can validate the contract.