Insurers

Three types of organizations are authorized to offer insurance products to the general public.

Insurance companies

THE insurance companies Are most often anonymous companies, which offer civil liability and damage insurance services, life insurance or even risk insurance.

Insurance premiums are the main resource of these insurerswhich are intended to make profits and redistribute them to their shareholders. Their economic model is based on the pooling of risks. Concretely, each insured is protected from the hazards thanks to the subscriptions of the other insured.

The primary mission of insurance companies iscompensate the damages resulting from the realization of the riskswhich allows the insured to preserve his heritage. For example, repairing a damaged vehicle following an accident will be taken care of by the insurer.

Insurance companies also have a role of prevention and awareness among insuredin order to limit claims as much as possible.

Mutuals

Mutuals are non -profit companies whose funds come from their members’ contributions.

  • When they cover risks of civil liability or damage to property, They fall under the insurance code.
  • On the other hand, when they cover risks linked to the human person, They fall under the Mutuality Code.

Mutual insurance companies do not pay shareholders and essentially finance themselves thanks to the contributions of their members. Based on a principle of solidarity, they do not select their members according to health criteria, for example.

In most cases, mutuals intervene in addition to social security for cover health expenses of their membersby offering them complementary health and provident contracts. They can also fulfill the missions of a classic insurance company, but in a mutualist form.

Provident institutions

Provident institutions are non -profit companies governed by the Social Security Code.

They manage collective persons insurance contracts, subscribed by companies on behalf of their employeesas part of the business or branch agreements.

Thus, they offer guarantees in addition to social security for a certain number of risks : sick leave, inability, disability, unemployment, maternity, death …

Having no capital to pay, the results of the provident institutions are used to strengthen the security of their commitments, to improve the quality of their guarantees, to finance their development or to implement social actions.

Insurance intermediaries

Intermediaries are regulated professions, who have the capacity to sell insurance products.

General insurance agents

General insurance agents are representatives of a company which they distribute insurance products. They manage their own agency independently, but are linked to a single company per branch.

For example, a general agent can distribute Groupama contracts for motorcycle car insurance, while representing AXA for home insurance. In any case, It benefits from the technical, commercial and logistics support of insurance companies for which he works.

The role of general insurance agents is Advise customers and support them in all their efforts, from the subscription of the contract to the settlement of possible claims. They are also responsible for writing insurance contracts adapted to the risks against which customers wish to protect themselves.

Finally, insurance agents are paid to the Commission, the latter that can vary depending on the product sold.

Insurance brokers

Having a trader status, thehe insurance brokers find, negotiate and manage the contracts of their customers (individuals or professionals) directly with insurance companies. Unlike general agents, they have no obligation of exclusivity towards a company.

Their role is to study precisely the needs of their customers in order to advise them and offer them suitable contracts. This job therefore requires perfect knowledge of the French insurance market, because the offers are more and more numerous and diversified.

Insurers can also delegate to brokers carrying out a number of tasks which falls to them as risk holders: we are talking about delegate brokers.

This management delegation May concern the subscription of insurance contracts, management and regulation of claims, collection of insurance premiums, the issue of contractual documents, etc.

The compensation of brokers takes the form of recurring commissions, in particular:

  • THE renewal commissionsin the event of the acquisition of a new customer.
  • THE management commissions Intended for delegate brokers, calculated according to the premiums received.

For each new customer, brokers also receive variable commissions, which pay the acquisition of this or that insurance product.

The agents

THE insurance agents are natural or legal persons mandated by an insurance company, with or without a contractual exclusivity link, but who do not have the status of general insurance agent. Their role is to present insurance proposals and to guide customers until the conclusion of the contract.

THE Insurance intermediariesas for them, work for an intermediary, that is to say a broker, a general agent or an insurance agent. The intermediary on behalf of which they work is responsible for the faults they may commit within the framework of their mandate.

The role of agents is limited to the contribution of contracts and the collection of contributions. In life insurance, they can also take care of the delivery of funds to insured or beneficiaries. The management of insurance contracts and the settlement of claims, on the other hand, are excluded from their activity.

Other distributors

Today, many players other than insurers, agents or brokers offer insurance products.

This is particularly the case for banks, which have developed A range of life insurance, borrower or even car and home insurance offers. Insurance services are also associated with most bank cards.

In addition, companies are increasingly selling affinity insurance contracts in addition to the products or services they market. Thus, tour operators systematically offer travel insurance or health insurance in the first euro, while dealers promote car insurance contracts.

Large bodies in the insurance sector

Finally, it is important to cite some major instances of the insurance world which make it possible to organize and regulate this complex sector.

France Insurers

Created in 2016, the French Insurance Federation (FFA) comes from the merger between the group of mutual insurance companies (GEMA) and the French Federation of Insurance Companies (FFSA). In 2022, the Federation adopted the name of “France insurers”.

Its main mission is to defend the interests of French insurers with its public and private interlocutorsin France and abroad. France Insurers regularly publishes statistical data and analyzes of the financial, technical and legal challenges of the profession, while carrying out prevention and training actions.

The Federation brings together almost all insurance companies operating in France, that is to say 248 companies representing more than 99 % of the market.

The Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (ACPR)

Born in 2010, after the merger of the Insurance and Mutual Control Authority (ACAM) and the Banking Commission, the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (ACPR) is an independent administrative authority that oversees insurance companies, mutuals and provident institutions.

With a customer protection mission, it ensures that the entities subject to its control are capable of keep the commitments contracted towards their insured or members. The ACPR is also responsible for controlling compliance with the systems to combat terrorism and money laundering.

Mediation

In the event of a dispute between an insured person and his insurer, the customer must first address his usual interlocutor, whether it is an advisor, a general agent or a broker. If the disagreement persists, the member can turn to the service responsible for processing complaints within the insurance company concerned.

When these appeals were exhausted in vain, the customer has the possibility of Enter the insurance mediator. To do this, he must set up a container file:

  • The detailed description of the dispute.
  • The response of the insurance company.
  • The contract (s) concerned by the dispute.
  • All documents useful for processing the file.

Following the shipment, the mediator has 21 days to determine whether the file is eligible or not. Once the coverage of the file was confirmed, He must offer a solution to the insured within 3 months.

Note: The mediator does not impose a decision, he only issues an opinion. His proposal can also be refused by the insured.