France Assureurs pleads for an increase in premiums

2023-11-14 11:10:00

The succession of storms, droughts and floods should lead the State to increase the additional premium which finances the natural disaster regime of French insurers, in deficit since 2015, estimated Tuesday the president of France Assureurs, Florence Lustman.

A deficit diet

“The worsening of natural events”, in terms of frequency and intensity, “has a consequence on the balance (of the) natural disaster regime”, which is “extremely protective” for policyholders and “that the whole world envy us,” noted Florence Lustman on RTL.

This scheme, which costs around 25 euros per year to policyholders, has been in deficit since 2015, so much so that “we will have to get it back on track,” she said. “Presumably, we will have to increase a little” the 12% surcharge on home insurance contracts “to finance the natural disaster regime”. “We might go from 12% to 18%,” said the president of the association of French insurers, noting that “it is up to the State to decide”.

Risks that are increasing… and the cost of coverage will also increase?

“Frankly, to make this regime sustainable, it’s worth it,” she said. Florence Lustman did not want to comment on possible price increases from insurers. “From the moment the risks increase, the cost of hedging the risk (…) tends to increase,” she noted.

It is, according to her, “really much too early” to estimate the damage caused by the floods in Pas-de-Calais. France Insurers had estimated Monday at 1.3 billion euros the cost of storms Ciaran and Domingos, which swept part of the country in early November.

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