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What are the mandatory and optional insurances?

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Driving, living, investing, borrowing, employing, practically every act in our personal and professional life is linked to insurance. In the plethora of contracts offered by professionals, which ones are mandatory and which policy can be dispensed with?

Four insurances imposed by the legislator

Under certain laws, the individual is required to take out 4 categories of insurance. These cover his health care, his home, and his vehicle. Those who practice certain regulated professions are, moreover, subject to an obligation of adapted protection, the cost of which they can assess with Le Mag de l’Assurance. Social Security, through its compulsory regime, constitutes the first imperative insurance for the individual, all professional activities and situations took together. It protects the entitled person for maternity and risks of illness.

As protection against possible claims related to housing, the Alur law of March 26, 2014, requires tenants to take out insurance. In the absence of the latter, the landlord/owner can assert a right of eviction. It may happen that the landlord takes out this insurance himself and offers to transfer the amount to the rent. No tenant is, however, under any obligation to accept this offer, especially if he or she is already properly insured.

Owners of motor vehicles are, for their part, required to take out at least Civil Liability insurance. This compensates the Signatory in the event of an accident occurring on board his vehicle and causing bodily injury or property damage to a third party. Failure to meet this condition predisposes the offender to a maximum fine of 3,750 euros. Aggravating circumstances may lead to the withdrawal of a license or even imprisonment.

A plethora of options to adapt as needed

In parallel to these compulsory contracts, there is an anthology of insurance policies, the relevance, and subscription of which are left to the sole judgment of the subscriber. Some are more interesting than others, given their proven capacity to really improve the compensation of the insured. This is the case of complementary health insurance, which advantageously compensates for health expenses not covered by Health Insurance. In addition, it is worth noting that company supplementary health insurance has become compulsory for employees since January 1, 2016, except in a few cases of exclusion. Insurance-linked to various loans is also optional in essence. However, common sense dictates to subscribe to it, knowing the seriousness of situations in which possible accidents in life, during the repayment process, can plunge borrowers.

Other insurance policies, such as supplementary pension or life insurance, are only binding if the signatory so desires. Their interest often lies in the fact that they constitute a tool for the transmission of wealth and an excellent means of investing one’s assets. Funeral insurance, in particular, is more a matter of the subscriber’s desire to avoid unforeseen charges to his or her family and friends. Considering the more and more exorbitant costs applied by funeral directors, this insurance really makes the difference. All the more so in the event that death occurs in a foreign country. Within the framework of works, the damage insurance – optional for the private individual – can accelerate the implementation of the compensation of the professional decennial, if the need arises.

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