Section I: General provisions.

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Article L132-21-1

French Insurance CodeIn force

Updated 8 Nov 2023

For all life insurance policies with a surrender or transfer value and for all capitalisation policies, the surrender or transfer value, where applicable, is equal to the difference between the current value of the commitments made by the insurer and the policyholders respectively, within the limit, for the surrender value of life insurance policies, of the amount insured in the event of death.

The surrender or transfer value of the commitments mentioned in 1° of Article L. 134-1 includes the amount of the conversion of the rights expressed in units of the diversification reserve mentioned in the same Article L. 134-1.

The surrender or transfer value of the commitments mentioned in 2° of the said Article L. 134-1 corresponds to the net asset value of the units in the diversification reserves. At maturity, the surrender value may not be less than the amount of the guarantee expressed in euros.

The procedures for determining the surrender or transfer value referred to in the second and third paragraphs of this article are specified by decree of the Conseil d'Etat.

The surrender or transfer value of life assurance or capitalisation policies is calculated by taking into account, in determining the commitment of the policyholder or subscriber, the part of the premiums to be paid by the interested party, representing the acquisition costs of the policy, when these costs have been charged as a deductible expense by the company before the end of the financial year in which the surrender value is calculated. However, for each life insurance or capitalisation contract, the surrender or transfer value may not be more than 5% less than the surrender or transfer value that would be calculated without taking into account the part of the premiums mentioned in this paragraph. The amount of entry and payment charges payable by the person concerned in any given year may not exceed 5% of the amount of premiums paid in that year. This latter limit does not apply to the funeral financing formulas mentioned inarticle L. 2223-33-1 of the General Local Authorities Code , for which the acquisition charges represent an amount less than or equal to 2.5% of the capital guaranteed each year.

When the mechanism provided for in the previous paragraph is not applied, the surrender or transfer value may be reduced by an indemnity, the maximum amount of which is set by decree by the Conseil d'Etat.

For life insurance or capitalisation contracts, an order of the Minister for the Economy sets the actuarial calculation rules applicable to them.

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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