It is a must for anyone who wants to obtain a mortgage: take out borrower insurance. It is mandatory and allows the installments of the credit to be paid to the bank in the event of a health problem or death, for example. Depending on the profile of the borrower, this insurance can represent up to more than 30% of the total amount of the credit. Currently, thanks to the Hamon law, it can be renegotiated at any time during the first year, then on each anniversary date.
It is this constraint that the deputies want to remove. Their objective is that the borrower can renegotiate when he wants and possibly change insurer. While this text was adopted almost unanimously by the National Assembly on November 25, it was challenged in the Senate on Wednesday January 19, where the majority Republicans voted against.
Traditional banks and insurers, such as BNP Paribas, Crédit Mutuel or Société Générale do not want to open this market to 10 billion euros. They therefore lobbied and convinced the right to oppose this text in the Senate. For them, making it possible to change borrower insurance at any time means the possibility for customers to join the competition more easily, in particular alternative insurers called delegation. Traditional players in the sector therefore fear losing customers.
they are especially afraid of seeing the best customers escape them: young people, those who are in good health, executives… All these borrowers, having the best rates, will go to the highest bidder. They are worried about keeping only “at risk” customers: the oldest, with health concerns, etc. These same customers, according to them, will pay more for their insurance with this text.
The file takes on a political dimension because, with the approach of the presidential election, the Senate does not hesitate to oppose the majority. Everyone has their own arguments. The senators, if they limit competition, boast for example of being more inclusive in the text adopted by removing the medical questionnaire for mortgages of less than 200,000 euros. Deputies and senators will probably find themselves in a joint joint committee but, if no agreement is found, the text will go back to the National Assembly.