4 Voluntary 'Top Up' Health Insurance in France

1. Limits of State Health System
2. How Much do you Pay?
3. Does a Top-Up Policy Make Sense?
4. Obtaining Voluntary Health Insurance
5. Terminating Your Top-Up Policy

4.5. Terminating Your Top-Up Health Insurance Policy

Since 2015 as a result of the 'Loi Hamon', it has been possible for policyholders to terminate their vehicle and house insurance policy at any time.

Formerly, unless there was a change in your personal circumstances (such as sale of the vehicle or house) you had to wait until the anniversary date of the policy and give two months prior notice to terminate.

If you did not terminate then, provided the insurance company had given you due notice, the insurance policy was automatically renewed.

Complementary health insurance policies (l'assurance complémentaire santé), taken out on a voluntary basis by households to meet those health charges not reimbursed by the State system (hence often referred to as 'top-up'), were not included in these more generous termination arrangements.

Following a legislative proposal by parliamentarians in the governing party, the government accepted the need to end the practice, as a result of which the change in the law was adopted in 2019.

Since 1st December 2020 when for all policies that are in place on this date, and for all new policies, it will become possible to terminate a policy at any time, provided you have held it for at least a year.

It applies to all complementary health contracts, whether provided by a private insurer or a 'mutuelle'.

The termination takes effect one month after the insurer has received notification from you.

No charge or penalty can be imposed, although you will be asked to pay the portion of the premium corresponding to the period when the risk continued to be covered.

If you have paid your premium annually, the insurance company will have to refund you the part of the premium in proportion to the time you were covered.

Thus, if you have paid the full year's premium and you terminate after six months, the termination will be effective one month later (6+1 = 7 months), and the insurer must refund you five months' premium.

The insurer has 30 days to make the refund, failing which they are liable to interest rate charges on the outstanding sum.

You can terminate the policy by any means, but it is best done by recorded delivery letter. Where it is an on-line contract, all you need do is send an e-mail, to which the insurer is required to respond, although you will need to monitor to ensure there is no delay.

Insurers are required by the law to state clearly your termination rights (droits de resiliation), both in the policy and in the annual renewal notice.

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