Insurance in France
Public health cover comes from CPAM and your health insurance card (carte Vitale), but most residents add complementary health insurance (mutuelle) to cover the gap. Car liability cover (assurance auto) is legally required for every vehicle, tenants must insure their home (assurance habitation), and the Hamon law (loi Hamon) lets you cancel most policies after one year. French insurers are supervised by the ACPR. The guides below walk through each type of cover and how to compare providers.
Jules
Founder, How to France, the complete guide for living or visiting France
Updated: July 8 2026 | Found helpful by 8 others
How Does the French Insurance System Work?
Insurance in France mixes public and private cover. Health starts with affiliation to l'Assurance Maladie (PUMa, protection universelle maladie), which reimburses part of your care through the carte Vitale; most residents add a private mutuelle santé to cover the remainder. Everyday risks like your car and home are handled by private insurers (assureurs). The sector is supervised by the ACPR (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution), and the trade body France Assureurs publishes market data. Official rules and reimbursement rates are on service-public.fr. The loi Hamon lets you cancel most policies at any time after the first year.
What Insurance Is Mandatory vs. Optional in France?
French law makes only a few lines of cover compulsory, and most depend on your situation. Car liability (RC) is mandatory for any motor vehicle, even one that stays parked, and driving uninsured carries a fine of up to €3,750. Tenants must insure their home, furnished or not, and co-ownersin a copropriété must hold at least liability cover. Everyone who lives in France on a stable, regular basis must also be affiliated to l'Assurance Maladie (PUMa).
| Line of cover | Legally mandatory? | Contractually required? | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car liability (RC auto) | Yes, any motor vehicle, even parked | Leases and car loans (LOA, LLD) may demand all-risk | L211-1 Code des assurances |
| Home, tenant (furnished or not) | Yes | Landlord asks for the attestation at signing and yearly | Art. 7 g and 25-3, loi 89-462 |
| Home, owner in a copropriété (including landlords) | Yes, at least liability | Syndic may ask for an attestation | Art. 9-1, loi 65-557 |
| Home, owner-occupied house | No | Mortgage lender may demand it | None |
| Liability for category 1 and 2 dogs | Yes, usually inside home cover | No | L211-14 Code rural |
| Mutuelle santé | No for individuals | Yes for private-sector employees, via the employer scheme | ANI 2016; L911-7 Code de la sécurité sociale |
| Borrower insurance | No | Mortgage lenders require it; you may pick your own insurer | Loi Lemoine (2022-270) |
| Legal protection, pet, life | No | No | None |
A mutuelleis optional for individuals, but private-sector employees must join their employer's scheme. Standalone dental insurance does not exist in France: dental cover comes through a mutuelle formula or a surcomplémentaire on top of it. Pet insurance sits outside the loi Hamon, so you must cancel 2 monthsbefore the renewal date. If a tenant does not insure, the landlord may take out cover on the tenant's behalf and recharge the premium plus a 10% penalty. The rules are summarised on service-public.fr.
What Should Expats Know About Insurance in France?
New arrivals affiliate to l'Assurance Maladie through PUMa once they are settled, then receive a carte Vitale. Until cover is active, private or international health insurance bridges the gap, and it is often required for a visa. Landlords will ask tenants for proof of home insurance (attestation d'assurance habitation) before you get the keys. You can register a car first, but you must insure it before driving, and liability cover stays mandatory even when the car is parked. Foreign no-claims history has no automatic effect, so most newcomers start at a bonus-malus coefficient of 1.00. Many contracts and provider sites are in French only, so use the loi Hamon to switch once you have compared offers.
How Do You Settle an Insurance Dispute in France?
La Médiation de l'Assuranceis the free ombudsman for insurance disputes in France. Write to your insurer's complaints service first, ideally by registered letter, and wait two months. Then refer the case at mediation-assurance.org within one year of your complaint. In 2024 the ombudsman received 36,540 referrals and sided fully or partly with the policyholder in about 55% of examined cases. About 55% of referrals were inadmissible, mostly because the prior written complaint was skipped.
The ACPR supervises insurers and brokers but does not arbitrate individual cases. Check any broker on orias.fr, the mandatory register of intermediaries. No official comparator exists: LeLynx, LesFurets and Assurland are commercial sites paid through placement or lead fees. For ad-free information, use ABE Info Service, run by the Banque de France, the ACPR and the AMF.