Life insurance: what documents and information are needed before subscribing?

Before signing, you must have a Key Information Document (KID). According to EIOPA, this document is required for life insurance products with profit sharing and unit-linked products. It is no more than two A4 pages long, must be provided in a timely manner before any commitment is made, and must be written in your language. The AMF recommends also reading the information notice and being wary of overlapping fees.

The Key Information Document (KID)

EIOPA, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, outlines the regime for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products, known as PRIIPs. These include profit-sharing life insurance and unit-linked life insurance.

For these products, producers and sellers must submit a key information document. Here's what EIOPA has stated:

The EIOPA website does not mention any reform of the scheme in 2025 or 2026. This does not, however, establish that there is no such reform.

What Luxembourg law stipulates regarding insurance contracts

The Luxembourg law of 27/07/1997 on insurance contracts (coordinated version as of 25/11/2025) requires, in Article 10, that information be provided in a timely manner before the conclusion of the contract. This information must be formulated clearly and precisely, in writing (Article 10, paragraph 2). The law also specifies the language in which this information must be provided. It includes, in particular:

• incidental costs and taxes incurred in the conclusion of the contract (Article 10, paragraph 1, k); ;
• for life insurance, the terms of profit sharing; ;
• for life insurance, indications of surrender and reduction values.

This page does not specify which law applies to the contract of a French resident. It only reports what the Luxembourg text stipulates. The term "information notice" does not appear in Article 10.

Fees: what the AMF and the economie.gouv.fr portal say

The economie.gouv.fr portal lists the types of fees associated with life insurance: application fees, management fees, deposit fees, and transfer fees. It provides no figures and does not differentiate between French and foreign contracts.

The AMF, in its guide "Financial Investment Fees", warns against:

• the accumulation of costs; ;
• the "pre-deducted" fees; ;
• the annual management fees of the contract; ;
• arbitration fees.

She specifies that the information notice and the key information document should be read before subscribing.

This page does not provide any fee levels.

A simple method: add up all the lines

When faced with a pile of fees, a simple method is to add them up. Total what the contract charges upon entry, annually, and with each transfer. Then compare this over the holding period you are considering.

Numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. A hypothetical investor is considering investing €200,000 and is comparing two offers. All subsequent values are assumptions about the investor profile, not actual fee levels observed on a real contract.

Issue. He compares the management fees alone and selects proposal A, the cheapest on this line.

Strategy. Add the three lines together and compare over several time horizons, assuming a constant capital.

Result. After 1 year: A costs €5,200, B costs €1,900. After 5 years: A €10,000, B €9,100. After 7 years: A €12,400, B €12,700. The direction of the difference reverses between the 6th and 7th years (at 6.5 years). The ranking therefore depends on the time horizon and all the lines, not just one.

Calculation: A = 200,000 × 2 % + 200,000 × 0.6 % × n; B = 200,000 × 0.9 % × n + 50,000 × 0.2 %; crossover at n = 3,900 ÷ 600 = 6.5. Capital assumed constant, single arbitrage, all rates fictitious.

What changes depending on your situation

• The type of contract. Profit sharing or units of account: the DIC covers both.
• Your detention period. It impacts the total cost.
• The number of arbitrations planned. Each can generate costs.
• The language of the contract. The DIC is written in the client's language.

These points are examined on a case-by-case basis. No result is guaranteed in advance.