Less spent on health insurance

PEOPLE in France are cutting back on spending on their top-up health insurance.

A study by www.assurland.com has found that while households have been maintaining their spending on house or car insurance, they have been seeking savings in health.

The trend has been for people to opt for less comprehensive cover, with those choosing “budget” policies rising from 16% to 21% over four years. Those choosing “security” ones - which offer the most cover - dropped from 39% to 36%.

This comes as insurance costs have consistently risen more than inflation over the last four years. Health has seen the steepest rise – up an average 4.8% a year compared to inflation at 1.6%.

Health insurance is usually people’s largest insurance cost – an average of €650 compared to €500 for car insurance and €200 to insure the home. Also, unlike the other insurance types, health insurance gets progressively more expensive as people age.