French Insurance Code
In forceI.-1° The distance supply of insurance transactions to a consumer is governed by this Book and by articles L. 222-1 to L. 222-3, L. 222-6 and L. 222-13 to L. 222-16, L. 222-18, L. 232-4 and L. 242-15 of the Consumer Code;
2° For the purposes of 1°, the following definitions apply:
a) "The policyholder, a natural person, who is acting for purposes which are outside his or her trade, business or profession" where "the consumer" is mentioned;
b) "The insurer or insurance intermediary" where it is referred to as "the supplier";
c) "The total amount of the premium or contribution" where it says "the total price";
d) "Right of renunciation" where it says "right of withdrawal";
e) "Le II de l'article L. 112-2-1 du code des assurances" where it says "l'article L. 222-7, L. 222-9 à L. 222-12 " ;
f) "Le III de l'article L. 112-2-1 du code des assurances" where "l'article L. 222-5 " is mentioned;
3° For the application of article L. 222-6 of the Consumer Code, the contractual terms and conditions must include, in addition to the information provided for in article L. 112-2 or article L. 132-5 as appropriate, a drafting model designed to facilitate the exercise of the right of renunciation where this right exists.
II.-1° Any natural person who has entered into a distance contract for purposes which do not fall within the scope of their commercial or professional activity has a period of fourteen full calendar days in which to renounce the contract, without having to give any reason or pay any penalties. This period begins to run :
a) either from the day on which the distance contract is concluded ;
b) Or from the day on which the interested party receives the contractual terms and conditions and the information, in accordance with article L. 222-6 of the Consumer Code, if this latter date is later than that mentioned in a) ;
2° However, for life insurance policies, the aforementioned period is extended to thirty full calendar days. This period begins to run :
a) Either from the day on which the interested party is informed that the distance contract has been concluded ;
b) or from the day on which the interested party receives the contractual terms and conditions and the information, in accordance with article L. 222-6, if this latter date is later than that mentioned in a);
3° The right of renunciation does not apply to :
a) Travel or luggage insurance policies or similar short-term insurance policies with a term of less than one month ;
b) The insurance contracts mentioned in article L. 211-1 of this code;
c) Contracts performed in full by both parties at the express request of the consumer before the latter exercises his right of renunciation.
III -In good time prior to the conclusion of a distance contract, the subscriber receives the following information:
1° The name of the contracting insurance undertaking, the address of its registered office, where the insurance undertaking is registered in the Trade and Companies Register, its registration number, the contact details of the authority responsible for its supervision and, where applicable, the address of the branch offering the cover or the identity and address of the insurance intermediary and its registration number in the register referred to in I of article L. 512-1 ;
2° The total amount of the premium or contribution or, where this amount cannot be stated, the basis for calculating the premium or contribution so that the policyholder can check it;
3° The minimum term of the contract and the cover and exclusions provided for therein;
4° The period during which the information provided is valid, the procedures for concluding the contract and paying the premium or contribution, as well as an indication, where applicable, of the additional cost specific to the use of a distance marketing technique;
5° The existence or absence of a right of renunciation and, if such a right exists, its duration and the practical arrangements for exercising it, in particular the address to which notification of the renunciation must be sent. The policyholder must also be informed of the amount of the premium or contribution that the insurer may claim from him in return for the cover taking effect, at his express request, before the expiry of the waiver period;
6° The law on which the insurer bases its pre-contractual relations with the consumer, as well as the law applicable to the contract and the language that the insurer undertakes to use, with the policyholder's agreement, for the duration of the contract;
7° The procedures for examining complaints that the policyholder may make about the contract and for recourse to a mediation process under the conditions set out in Title V of Book I of the Consumer Code, without prejudice to the policyholder's right to take legal action, as well as, where applicable, the existence of guarantee funds or other compensation mechanisms.
8° The standardised information document provided for in article L. 112-2 for non-life insurance.
The information on contractual obligations provided during the pre-contractual phase must comply with the law applicable to the contract.
This information, the commercial nature of which must be unequivocal, must be provided in a clear and comprehensible manner by any means appropriate to the distance marketing technique used.
IV - For life insurance contracts, the insurer must also indicate the information mentioned in articles L. 132-5-1 and L. 132-5-2, in particular the maximum amount of charges that may be levied and, where the guarantees provided by these contracts are expressed in units of account, the main characteristics of these units. In the latter case, the insurer must also specify that it is committed only to the number of units of account and not to their value, which may fluctuate upwards or downwards. The insurer must also provide the information specified in article L. 522-3.
V.-A Conseil d'Etat decree sets out the information to be provided to the policyholder in the event of communication by voice telephony.
VI - Infringements of the provisions of this article are recorded and penalised by the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution under the conditions set out in Section 2 of the single chapter of Title I of Book III.
The offences constituted by the material absence of the information provided for in III of this article, as well as the insurer's refusal to reimburse the individual policyholder under the conditions set out in article L. 121-30 of the French Consumer Code, may also be investigated and recorded by the agents mentioned in articles L. 511-3 and L. 511-21 of the same code, under the conditions set out in article L. 511-6 of the same code.
The conditions of application of this article are defined as necessary by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.
