Assurance-vie, health insurance, loan insurance: what they cover, what they cost you.

Yes, at any time and free of charge, thanks to the Lemoine Law of February 28, 2022 (Article L. 113-12-2 of the Insurance Code), regardless of the loan signing date. The only condition is that the new contract must offer guarantees at least equivalent to those required by the bank, which has ten business days to respond and must provide a reason for any refusal.

The stakes quickly add up: on a €300,000 loan over 20 years, every 0.10 percentage point increase in the insurance rate represents €6,000 when the premium is calculated on the loan amount. And if you borrow less than €200,000 per person with repayment completed before age 60, you cannot be required to complete a health questionnaire (Article L. 113-2-1 of the French Insurance Code).

Since July 1, 2021 (Social Security Financing Act for 2021), Health Insurance pays daily allowances to self-employed professionals from the 4th to the 90th day of sick leave: 1/730th of the average income of the last three years, €197.50 per day at most in 2026. For €90,000 of income, this amounts to approximately €123 per day, or €3,700 per month instead of €7,500.

Beyond the 90th day, everything depends on your pension fund: some take over (CARMF, CARPIMKO, CAVEC, CARCDSF), while others, like CIPAV, pay nothing. It is this gap that the supplementary insurance must cover, including practice expenses, since these continue to accrue.

Contributions to so-called "Madelin" contracts are deductible from taxable income (Article 154 bis of the French General Tax Code), up to a limit of 3.75 times the profit plus 7 times the annual Social Security ceiling, without exceeding 3 times eight times this ceiling. In 2026, the ceiling is €48,060: the overall limit is €11,534.40.

For a profit of €80,000, up to €6,364 of contributions per year are deductible; in a 30 % bracket, this represents approximately €1,900 less tax each year.

The two do not do the same thing. The CFE is a voluntary membership in the French social security system (articles L. 762-1 et seq. of the Social Security Code): it maintains your French rights, but reimburses based on French rates. An appendectomy billed at 28,000 $ in Houston is reimbursed as an appendectomy in France; the remaining balance is your responsibility.

First-euro insurance reimburses actual expenses, without any French tax treatment, and requires a medical questionnaire: what is declared is permanently excluded or subject to a surcharge. This is why the choice is made before departure, depending on the country and duration: one, the other, or both.