Lemoine Act: switch mortgage insurance at any time

What the Lemoine Act changed, and from when

Before 2022, borrowers could only change insurer within 12 months of signing the offer (the loi Hamon, Hamon Act), then at each annual renewal date from 1 January 2018 (the amendement Bourquin, Bourquin amendment), as ANIL points out. Act no. 2022-270 of 28 February 2022 removed these windows: article L113-12-2 of the Code des assurances (Insurance Code) now allows cancellation “at any time from the signing of the loan offer”.

The implementation timetable, set by article 8 of the Act:

This right belongs exclusively to the insured person: the insurer, for its part, cannot cancel the contract on the grounds of an increased risk, except in limited cases set by decree (art. L113-12-2).

The condition: an equivalent level of cover

The bank cannot refuse another policy if it offers “an equivalent level of cover” to the policy it proposed or to the current one (art. L313-30 of the Code de la consommation (Consumer Code)). To assess this equivalence, it gives you a personalised information sheet (fiche personnalisée): according to service-public.gouv.fr, it defines the cover required using a maximum of 11 criteria for death, loss of autonomy, disability and incapacity cover, and a maximum of 4 criteria for loss of employment.

In return for its agreement, the lender may not change the interest rate (fixed, variable or adjustable), nor the terms on which the loan was granted, nor charge fees, including fees for analysing the new policy (art. L313-32). The amendment (avenant) to the loan agreement is also issued free of charge (art. L313-31).

The health questionnaire removed: the two thresholds

Article L113-2-1 of the Insurance Code prohibits the insurer from requesting “any information relating to state of health or any medical examination” when both of the following conditions are met:

1. the insured share of the total outstanding loans does not exceed €200,000 per insured person;
2. the loan is repaid before the insured person’s 60th birthday.

Two important points. The ceiling is calculated per insured person: for a couple each insured at 100%, each person is assessed on their own share. And it is assessed on the total outstanding, i.e. adding up all your property loans, including those with other banks (ANIL). If either threshold is exceeded, the insurer can once again ask you to complete a questionnaire; a decree may set more favourable conditions, but the article has been unchanged since 1 June 2022 as at the verification date.

The steps and the bank’s deadlines

1. Find an equivalent policy and obtain the new insurer’s agreement.
2. Send the substitution request to your bank, with the new policy.
3. The bank replies within 10 working days of receiving the other policy (art. L313-31). A refusal must be explicit and give all the reasons, specifying the missing information or cover (ANIL; service-public).
4. If it agrees, the bank amends the loan agreement by an avenant, with the new TAEG (annual percentage rate of charge), within 10 working days of receiving the substitution request (art. L313-31).
5. Notify your former insurer of the bank’s decision and the start date of the new policy (see below for how to send it). The cancellation takes effect 10 days after the insurer receives it, or on the start date of the new policy if that is later (art. L113-12-2).

If the bank refuses, the old policy is not cancelled: you remain covered. The cancellation request itself no longer needs to be sent by registered post: a letter, any durable medium or any means provided for in the contract is sufficient (ANIL). Finally, every year, the bank must inform you of your right to cancel at any time and how to do so (service-public.gouv.fr).

The shorter right to be forgotten

The same Act (art. 9) reduced the period for the droit à l’oubli (right to be forgotten) from 10 to 5 years after the end of the treatment protocol for cancers, whatever the person’s age, and extended it to viral hepatitis C (ANIL). For a property loan, the AERAS agreement applies it to policies ending before age 71 (see our guide to the right to be forgotten, in French). After this period, and with no relapse, the insurer may not collect any medical information about that condition. The other parameters of the convention AERAS (the agreement on insuring people with an aggravated health risk: loan amount covered, reference grid) were renegotiated after the Act. According to the official website of the agreement, an application for mortgage insurance under this framework is examined provided that the insured share of total outstanding loans does not exceed €420,000 and that the insurance ends before the borrower’s 71st birthday; the reference grid is published there (aeras-infos.fr).

Which professional to consult

The credit broker (courtier en crédit) is the natural point of contact: they compare policies, check equivalence against your bank’s personalised information sheet and prepare the substitution request. This is a regulated profession: when you first deal with them, they must give you their category of intermediary, their registration number and the means of checking that registration (art. R519-20 of the Code monétaire et financier (Monetary and Financial Code)). If the change of insurance is part of a wider project (renegotiation, loan buyout), they can also cost the whole operation. The notaire (notary) plays no part in this process, which is settled between you, the insurer and the bank.