The CEO of Axa France, Jacques de Peretti, responds to the attacks on the insurance sector in full arm wrestling with the Minister of the Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, who calls for the freezing of their premiums for 2021 A meeting is scheduled for Monday December 7 at Bercy.
Are you ready to freeze in 2021 the premiums of restaurants, hotels and cafes as claimed by Bruno le Maire?
JACQUE DE PERETTI.
Our group has always been in favor of dialogue and we are again in this difficult time.
It is a track that we are watching closely.
On Monday, at the same time as the whole sector, we will meet the Minister of the Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, in Bercy and we will once again demonstrate to him our spirit of openness.
We all have an interest in finding a solution and in coming out on top of this conflict.
In the absence of a freeze tomorrow, Bruno the Mayor has issued an ultimatum to you: he will support a Senate amendment imposing an exceptional tax of 1.2 billion euros on the sector… Do you really have a choice?
It is even the second ultimatum since the start of the crisis!
I had all of my European colleagues on the phone last Monday and such blackmail has never been practiced in any of these countries, whereas the situation with regard to insurance companies and restaurateurs is the same.
It is scandalous to have to suffer such blackmail.
Newsletter "It pays me"
The newsletter that improves your purchasing power
I'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers.
Learn more
We feel you are very angry with this tax ...
Of course!
We are the only country in Europe to tax so much.
But let's continue, let's continue ... There aren't enough already?
Did you know that complementary health care, a basic need of all of us, is taxed three times more than foie gras in France!
We walk on the head.
Understand that this tax would be the worst thing for the recovery because we could not assume such a burden alone, and we would have to defer it to the contributions of our policyholders, themselves already heavily taxed, at 35% on auto contracts for example!
We would thus invent in our country a new infernal machine to create a tax on the tax.
READ ALSO>
Operating losses: a Parisian restaurant owner takes Axa to court
How many restaurateurs and hoteliers are affected by amendments to their operating loss contracts and by an increase in premiums?
Our supervisory authority
(Editor's note: the ACPR)
asked us to clarify our contracts and this is what we did with our 20,000 restaurant customers who, in the vast majority, returned their signed amendments.
For two-thirds of them, we have not increased the premiums.
For others, it depends on their particular loss experience, it may be an increase linked to food poisoning in their restaurant, a fire, water damage, for example, having forced them to close.
What is the shortfall for Axa France from such a premium freeze?
We have not yet calculated but that would cost us dearly and would increase the solidarity gestures decided by Axa France to the tune of 400 million euros, including 100 million in direct aid and other support provided by our agents to their clients at through uncollected premiums, stock buybacks, etc.
But haven't you made savings in certain branches because of the lockdowns?
Yes, but I want to brush up on a totally false idea that insurers put money in their pockets during this crisis.
We have certainly seen a drop in claims in the automotive industry, which has generated gains for us.
But in return, we had to assume an increase in claims in practically all other branches, such as provident insurance with the explosion of work stoppages, operating loss with the compensation of more than 50,000 professionals, cancellations of trips with the sudden disappearance of air traffic or civil liability with the questioning of nursing homes and clinics by the beneficiaries of the deceased linked to Covid-19 ... In total, between the gains and the new charges, the Covid-crisis 19 is expected to cost French insurers more than 2 billion euros in additional compensation this year.
And I would like to add that our sector has spared no efforts, we have provided more than 2.5 billion euros in extra-contractual actions to our policyholders since the start of the crisis.
Finally, we are the only economic sector to have participated in Bruno Le Maire's solidarity fund for 400 million euros!
And we have never had recourse to partial unemployment… Which sector has done so?
The “Whatever it costs” insurers remains limited to the amounts that the insured contribute.