Insurers rub their hands: the French, pushed to save by the fear of the next day, have never stocked their life insurance accounts as much since the beginning of the year.
They filed 97.8 billion euros on their contracts, unheard of, according to data published Thursday by France Insurers.
The “anxiety -provoking climate” pushes savers to put money aside, explains to AFP the president of the Cercle de l’Épargne Philippe Crevel.
The French savings rate has also reached its highest level in 45 years in the first quarter, except for the period of the health crisis linked to the COVID, according to INSEE.
The debate on the reduction of the budget deficit, often accompanied by prospects for tax increases, encourages in particular retirees to put more money on their life insurance, to the detriment of consumption, analyzes Mr. Crevel.
The savers also readily capitalize on the interests generated by their investments, instead of withdrawing them.
“If we save, it is that we are worried, it is that we do not consume, that we are afraid of the future”, summed up this month with AFP a French banker.
Large banking networks – Crédit Agricole, La Banque Postale, Crédit Mutuel, BNP Paribas or even Société Générale – are the big winners since they concentrate, via their insurance subsidiaries, most of the life insurance.
During the first half, the services paid by insurers, in the event of redemption by the savers or distribution to the beneficiaries in the event of death, fell 7% over one year, to 71.2 billion euros.
The difference between contributions and services, called net collection, logically reached an amount that had not been seen since 2010 for a first half of all, at 26.6 billion euros.
Including 5 billion for the month of June alone, double that observed in June 2024.
– more risky –
The director general of France Insurers Paul Esmein soberly underlined Thursday the “good dynamic of life insurance (…) which continued throughout the semester”, during a conference call.
The increase in life insurance also hides a contrasting reality between investment media.
On the one hand, account units (UC), more risky but potentially more remunerative investments, experienced a net collection of 23.8 billion euros. On the other, the funds in euros, guaranteed in capital, increased only by 2.9 billion euros.
Life insurance remains, by far, the most important placement in value in France. In January, the total outstanding life insurance exceeded for the first time the milestone of 2,000 billion euros. At the end of June, he reached 2,052 billion euros (+5% over a year).
Regulated savings, another important reserve of French people, could not compete in the first half of the year.
The outstanding booklets has increased by just 3 billion euros between January and June, according to the latest data from Caisse des Dépôts, nine times less than life insurance.
– “Comparative advantage” –
The drop in the rate of booklet A on August 1, from 2.4% to 1.7%, should still unbalance the match between these two savings families.
“The decrease in short -term savings compensation rate restores a comparative advantage to life insurance,” said Crevel, in a note.
The average rate of euros in euros, communicated at the start of the year by insurers, revolves around 2.6%, according to data published Wednesday by the profession of the profession, ACPR, backed by the Banque de France.
One difference in size, however: this last rate is not clear of taxes, unlike that of booklet A.
The lobby of insurance companies also welcomed the strong commercial development of retirement savings plans (PER): payments (including transfers) on insurance represented 9.1 billion euros in the first half of 2025, 30% more than last year at the same period.
At the end of June 2025, the Insorantials had 7.4 million insured for an outstanding of 101.3 billion euros.
French support for retirement by capitalization, the PER is a “tunnel” product, which is envisaged in the long term. The payments are free but will not be recoverable before retirement age, except in exceptional cases.
