Dispute with an insurer: claim, then mediation, then court

In the event of a dispute with your insurer, the Bank of France advises you to first contact, if possible, the insurer's claims department. If this department does not respond or if its response is unsatisfactory, you can contact a mediator free of charge. If the solution proposed by the mediator is not satisfactory, you can take legal action. The order of access is important: a request to the mediator will not be accepted if the claims department has not been contacted first.

This page describes this process in three steps. It does not address the choice of a lawyer or the course of proceedings before a court. It does not provide a timeframe for the mediator's opinion: the two official pages consulted do not formulate it in the same way, and the applicable timeframe should be verified with the mediator in question (see below).

The rules below come from the Bank of France (undated page), economie.gouv.fr (page of the Insurance Mediation, written on 28/11/2024) and service-public.gouv.fr (sheet checked on 01/09/2025, sheet on prescription checked on 08/10/2026).

The route in a single table

Step 1: The complaints department

The Bank of France advises: "It is preferable to contact the complaints department directly." It specifies that the insurance company, or broker, "must acknowledge receipt of your request within a maximum of ten days" from the date of sending, and must "respond to you within a maximum of two months.".

The page doesn't specify when the two-month period begins. Don't calculate it in advance: read your acknowledgement of receipt.

This step also serves as proof. The Insurance Ombudsman states that to contact them, you must "have attempted to resolve your dispute with the insurer and have proof of this." Therefore, keep a record of your efforts and the response you received.

Step 2: The mediator

What you need to know before you buy it

• It's free. The Bank of France states: "You have the option of contacting a mediator free of charge." economie.gouv.fr presents the Insurance Mediation service as a free assistance program for individuals.
• You must have contacted the complaints department beforehand. Otherwise, according to the Bank of France, "your request to the mediator will not be accepted".
• His contact details According to the Bank of France, these details can be found on your contractual documents and on your insurer's website. The insurer can also provide them upon request.
• His opinion is not binding. economie.gouv.fr states that mediation provides an opinion and does not impose a decision.

How to enter it

The Bank of France advises prioritizing the sending of a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, clearly specifying the subject of the complaint and the name of the insurer concerned, and indicating the steps taken previously, with copies of the exchanges.

On the Insurance Mediation website, the application can be completed online or submitted in paper form (economie.gouv.fr). service-public.gouv.fr also provides a sample letter for writing to the mediator responsible for the insurer.

The deadlines

• Possible rejection. According to the economie.gouv.fr website, admissibility is verified upon receipt of the file. The consumer is informed of any potential rejection of their mediation request by the mediator within three weeks of receipt of their file. If the verification is successful, the parties are notified of the admissibility. The website consulted does not specify a timeframe for this notification.
• Notice. The Bank of France and the economie.gouv.fr website do not state the notice period in the same way: the applicable timeframe for your case should be verified with the mediator you have contacted. The Bank of France adds that the mediator may advise that an additional delay is necessary.
• A maximum of one year after the written complaint. economie.gouv.fr cites among the reasons for inadmissibility a request submitted to the mediator more than one year after the written complaint made to the insurer (see below).

When the mediator can dismiss the request

economie.gouv.fr specifically mentions cases where the request is manifestly unfounded or abusive, and those where the dispute has already been examined, or is currently being examined, by another mediator or by a court. It also mentions cases where the request is submitted to the mediator more than one year after the written complaint to the professional, and cases where the dispute falls outside the mediator's jurisdiction. The page refers to Article L.612-2 of the French Consumer Code.

Step 3: The courts

The Bank of France writes: "If the solution proposed by the consumer mediator is not satisfactory, you can take legal action."«

The €5,000 threshold

service-public.gouv.fr specifies that without this attempt, the legal claim is deemed inadmissible. The information sheet lists exemptions, such as a legitimate reason preventing the action, or a mandatory prior appeal already provided for in the procedure. It indicates that an agreement can be sought through a justice conciliator, a mediator, a lawyer (participatory procedure), or a judge.

A point of clarification regarding terminology: the Bank of France states "less than €5,000," while the service-public information sheet states "do not exceed €5,000." If your dispute concerns exactly €5,000, consult the information sheet before taking any action.

A point of access to justice

The Bank of France indicates that the justice points provide the public service of assistance with access to justice in each department, and that there is a single number for access to justice, 30 39.

Monitor the statute of limitations

The information sheet on service-public.gouv.fr regarding the statute of limitations for life insurance states: "In insurance matters, there is a two-year statute of limitations that applies to actions arising from the contract." This information sheet concerns life insurance. It presents the rule in general terms, but it does not replace reading your contract or the specific regulations for your type of insurance.

According to the same document, actions related to the execution of an insurance contract must generally be initiated within two years of the event that forms the basis of the claim. For your contract, the date of this event is determined from the start of the dispute, not the end.

The information sheet also indicates that the limitation period can be suspended if mediation or conciliation is used. At the end of the mediation or conciliation, it "restarts to run for the remaining period, which cannot be less than 6 months".

Numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. Hélène's insurer refused to compensate her for €3,800 in damages. She sent her written complaint to the claims department on January 11, 2027.

Issue. To know when she can move to the next stage, and whether an amicable attempt is mandatory before going to court.

Strategy. She follows the prescribed order: complaints department, then mediator. She sends her file to the mediator by registered mail. Assumptions for this hypothetical scenario: she counts the two months for a response from the date of sending (the source does not specify the starting point); the mediator receives her file on March 15, 2027, i.e., 63 days after the written complaint.

Result.

Between the submission of the claim and this deadline for notification of a possible rejection, 84 days The maximum time allowed in this scenario is [amount missing]. The case reaches the mediator 63 days after the written complaint, therefore before the one-year deadline of January 11, 2028. As the dispute of €3,800 is less than €5,000 (€1,200 below the threshold), an attempt at amicable resolution is mandatory before any legal action, except in certain circumstances.

This profile is fictitious. The timeline does not take into account the notice period, which should be verified with the mediator, nor any potential additional delays. The dates illustrate the calculation. They do not predict your situation.

What changes depending on your situation

• The amount of the dispute, compared to the threshold of €5,000.
• The insurer's response : no response within the deadline, or an unsatisfactory response.
• The date of your written complaint, compared to the one-year limit cited by economie.gouv.fr.
• The type of contract The pages read describe the process in general terms. The prescription is detailed here based on a fact sheet about life insurance.
• The parts you have Written exchanges, proof of your approach to the insurer.
• Exceptions to the amicable settlement, which are read on a case-by-case basis.

The rule depends on your situation. No results are guaranteed.