Borrower insurance is about to get a makeover.
After having been the subject of a consensus between senators and deputies at the beginning of the month, then having been voted by the Assembly, the reform of this compulsory insurance when taking out a mortgage must be definitively adopted by the Senate. this Thursday, February 17.
In future, it will be possible to terminate your contract at any time free of charge, and no longer on the anniversary date.
Read also“Let’s eliminate an injustice: the medical questionnaire prior to borrower insurance”
This flagship measure of the bill, carried by the deputy Patricia Lemoine (Agir) and supported by the government, had been rejected at first reading by the Senate, but approved by the National Assembly.
It aims to promote competition in this sector dominated by banks (88% market share), in order to lower costs for the consumer.
It will come into force on June 1 for new contracts, and from September 1 for others.
In accordance with the will of the Senate, the obligations of information of the policyholders on their right to cancellation are reinforced.
Insurers will therefore have to inform them each year of the existence of this right and the terms of its implementation.
Right to be forgotten and medical questionnaire
Important novelty, on the initiative of senators, the medical questionnaire required when taking out borrower insurance is removed for mortgages below 200,000 euros and whose term occurs before the 60th birthday of the borrower.
In addition, the "
right to be forgotten
" period, which allows former cancer patients - and now also hepatitis C patients - to no longer have to declare their illness to their insurer at the end of their therapeutic protocol, is reduced: it goes from ten to five years.
Read alsoReal estate credit: why inflation can be good news for you
Opposed to termination at any time, the French Banking Federation (FBF) assured in a press release its attachment “
to access to secure mortgage loans and to a shared insurance model for all
”.
She called for "
maintaining those goals
" with the new framework.
For their part, insurers welcomed a decision that will strengthen “
the rights of borrowers
”.
