The report by deputies Stéphane Vojetta and Philippe Naillet (Renaissance and PS relatives) does not aim to evaluate the law: it is an application report that aims to take stock six months after its publication. This is a partial statement, as certain provisions only entered into force on 1eh September last year.
Infra-annual termination of borrower’s insurance
The flagship measure of the Lemoine Act was to allow a right to infra-annual termination (RIA) of borrower insurance. The order of 27. May 2022 was issued before 1eh June 2022, the effective date of the provision for new contracts (the stream). For current contracts (stock), the measure has been in effect since 1eh September.
Patricia Lemoine had expressed concern in a letter addressed to the Financial Sector Advisory Committee “over the dilatory measures of certain banking institutions in connection with the establishment of the RIA”. The French Banking Association and the Ministry of Economy reassured the rapporteurs: “The parties heard agree to recognize that banks and traditional insurance companies have almost systematically and without notable exception implemented the procedures and technological adaptations necessary for the application of the law”.
However, the rapid increase in interest rates due to the economic context means that the rapporteurs have not been able to observe at the moment any substitution in favor of alternative insurers.
Extension of the right to be forgotten
Article 9 provides the right to be forgotten for cancer and hepatitis C from five years after the end of the therapeutic protocol. It also stipulated that negotiations should be opened to extend this right under threat of a decree. No decree has been issued, but negotiations on hepatitis C and HIV have progressed.
Since 1eh As of October, HIV changed from Part 2 of the AERAS network to Part 1, eliminating additional premiums and warranty exclusions. A new threshold has also been introduced to benefit from the reference network (EUR 420,000 instead of EUR 320,000).
To extend the right to be forgotten to other pathologies, studies will be needed. In 2024, they will focus in particular on epilepsies, so-called “good prognosis” cancers, kidney failure, hemophilia A and B, Von Willebrand’s disease and incapacity and disability.
Removal of the health questionnaire
Originally it was not present in the bill, but the removal of the health questionnaire for loans under €200,000 came from the Senate. For the rapporteurs, this has led to an increase in insurance premiums for alternative insurers: Treasury services estimate this increase at around 20 to 25%, as these insurers are unable “to rely on strong pooling unlike group insurers. This increase is not seen in all companies.
The Ministry also noted a legislative error: the wording of Article 10 means that this deletion does not apply to insurance contracts subject to the Reciprocity Code. The government wanted to table an amendment to a bill this summer, but it was seen as a leap of law. “While no mutual insurer has taken advantage of this legal loophole to not apply the law,” another legislative remedy is sought.
