Chapter I: Requirements for capitalisation contracts and certain life insurance contracts

Articles in this section · 2

Article A522-1

French Insurance CodeIn force

Updated 7 Nov 2023

The information referred to in the fourth paragraph of Article L. 522-5 contains a list of the reference units of account and, for each unit of account, an indication of:

i) the performance of the assets representing the unit of account over the last financial year, gross of management fees, expressed as a percentage ;

ii) The management fees deducted from the assets representing the unit over the last financial year, expressed as a percentage;

iii) The performance of the unit of account over the last financial year, net of the management fees mentioned in ii), expressed as a percentage;

iv) The recurring charges deducted from the contract, expressed as a percentage;

v) The final performance of the investment over the last financial year, net of the management fees and recurring charges mentioned in ii) and iv), expressed as a percentage;

vi) the proportion of fees which gave rise to retrocessions of commission to insurance intermediaries, sub-managers, the custodian or the insurance company during the last financial year; and

vii) The total charges, expressed as a percentage, which are the sum of the management charges mentioned in ii) and the recurring charges levied on the contract mentioned in iv);

viii) The synthetic risk indicator referred to in Article 3 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2017/653 of 8 March 2017 or, in the absence of this synthetic risk indicator, a risk indicator calculated using a method similar to that provided for in the aforementioned Regulation.

The costs mentioned in ii) correspond to the other recurring costs mentioned in 3 (b) of Article 5 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2017/653 of 8 March 2017.

The recurring costs of the contract mentioned in iv) include in particular the contract management costs on the units of account and, where applicable, the costs linked to the financing of the subscribing association.

This information is presented in the form of a table in the appendix to this article.

In the table annexed to this article, the units of account are classified within the following categories, defined according to the assets representing the unit of account:

1° "Equity funds": this category includes units of account defined as "funds invested in equities" within the meaning of the glossary of Guideline ECB/2014/15 of the European Central Bank of 4 April 2014 on monetary and financial statistics ;

2° "Bond funds": this category includes units of account defined as "funds invested in bonds" within the meaning of the glossary of the aforementioned European Central Bank guideline ;

3° "Mixed funds": this category includes units of account defined as "mixed funds" within the meaning of the glossary of the aforementioned European Central Bank guidelines;

4° "Real estate funds": this category includes units of account defined as "funds invested in real estate" within the meaning of the glossary of the aforementioned European Central Bank guidelines;

5° "Hedge funds": this category includes units of account defined as "hedge funds" within the meaning of the glossary of the aforementioned European Central Bank guidelines;

6° "Private equity funds": this category includes units of account defined as "private equity funds" within the meaning of the glossary of the aforementioned European Central Bank guidelines;

7° "Money market funds": this category includes units of account whose representative assets are undertakings for collective investment as referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1131 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on money market funds ;

8° "Other": this category includes units of account that do not fall into the categories mentioned in 1° to 7°.

At the beginning of the financial year, the intermediary or the insurance or capitalisation undertaking may, for a period of three months, provide the information referred to in i to iii and v to vii for the last known financial year.

Mariela Petrova

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Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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