Swapping insurance to become easier

MEASURES meant to help people cancel insurance policies more easily have been promised by Economy Minister Christine Lagarde.

Mrs Lagarde says that, despite the 2005 Loi Chatel that already aimed at creating more clarity, conditions for cancelling are “complicated, confusing and variable”.

For all common insurance types – car, home, health, mobile phone theft etc – firms should send a warning 20 days before the cancellation cut-off date (typically two months before the anniversary of the date of the start of the policy), she says.

Furthermore the letter must include clear and prominent instructions for cancelling. At present companies are accused of making these difficult to spot by printing them in small type.

Mrs Lagarde said she would ask the Comité Consultatif du Secteur Financier (CCSF), a national body that studies relations between finance firms and their customers, to oversee the changes by the end of the year.

She also wants them to prepare a new leaflet responding to typical questions from people thinking of changing insurers.

Mrs Lagarde praised the usefulness of the various insurance comparison sites (like Assurlandwww.assurland.com or Hyperassur) saying she would like the CCSF to work with them so they provide more detail on the exact cover given by each firm as well as price.

Photo: Remy Steinegger