Assurance Emprunteur Explained: The French Mortgage Insurance Every Ski Property Buyer Must Understand

If you are financing a ski property in the French Alps with a mortgage, you will encounter a cost that barely exists in British property transactions: assurance emprunteur. This is the compulsory borrower’s insurance that French banks require on virtually every home loan, and it can add 0.15% to 0.50% of the loan amount to your annual repayments depending on your age, health and coverage level.

For a typical British buyer taking a €400,000 mortgage on a new-build ski apartment, assurance emprunteur can cost between €600 and €2,000 per year — or €12,000 to €40,000 over the life of a 20-year loan. Yet it is one of the least understood elements of the French buying process, particularly for non-residents who have never navigated the French banking system before.

At Domosno, we have guided British and international buyers through the French mortgage process since 2005. This guide explains what assurance emprunteur covers, how much it costs, how the Lemoine law has transformed your rights as a borrower, and how to minimise the expense without compromising your protection.

Assurance emprunteur — literally ‘borrower’s insurance’ — is a policy that protects the lender (and the borrower’s family) if the borrower dies, becomes permanently disabled, or suffers a long-term inability to work during the mortgage term. In France, it is not technically a legal obligation, but in practice no bank will issue a mortgage without it. It is a de facto requirement for every home loan.

The policy typically covers three core risks: deces (death), PTIA (total and irreversible loss of autonomy), and ITT/IPT (temporary or permanent inability to work). Some policies also cover IPP (partial permanent disability) and perte d’emploi (job loss), though the latter is rare and expensive. For non-resident buyers purchasing a ski property as a second home, the death and PTIA cover are the essential components.

The French approach differs fundamentally from the UK, where mortgage protection insurance exists but is not routinely required by lenders. In France, the bank builds assurance emprunteur into the loan offer itself — it appears on your offre de pret (formal loan offer) alongside the interest rate, and the premium is typically collected via your monthly mortgage direct debit. Understanding this upfront avoids unpleasant surprises at the notaire’s office.

The cost of assurance emprunteur is expressed as an annual percentage of the loan amount, and it varies significantly by age, health profile, smoking status and whether you choose the bank’s own group policy or an external individual policy. Here are the typical ranges for 2026.

For a healthy non-smoker aged 35-45, the rate typically falls between 0.15% and 0.25% of the outstanding capital per year with an external insurer, or 0.25% to 0.40% with the bank’s own group contract. For a buyer aged 50-60, rates climb to 0.30% to 0.50% externally and 0.40% to 0.60% with the bank. Medical conditions, particularly cardiovascular issues and diabetes, can push rates higher still.

To put this in concrete terms: a 45-year-old British buyer taking a €500,000 mortgage over 20 years at 3.75% interest would pay approximately €1,250 per year (0.25%) for external assurance emprunteur, totalling €25,000 over the loan term. The same buyer accepting the bank’s group policy at 0.40% would pay €2,000 per year — a difference of €15,000 over 20 years. This is why shopping around matters enormously.

According to Service-Public.fr, the French government’s official information portal, borrowers have the legal right to choose their own insurer provided the coverage is equivalent to the bank’s minimum requirements. This principle of delegation d’assurance is central to managing your costs.

The Loi Lemoine, which came into full effect in September 2022, is the single most important piece of legislation for anyone holding or taking out a French mortgage. Before Lemoine, borrowers could only switch their assurance emprunteur at the annual renewal date or within the first 12 months. The new law introduced three transformative changes.

First, you can now cancel and replace your assurance emprunteur at any time, with no waiting period and no penalty. This means if you accepted your bank’s expensive group policy at the point of taking out your mortgage — as most non-resident buyers do under time pressure — you can switch to a cheaper external policy the following month. The bank cannot refuse, provided the replacement policy offers equivalent guarantees (equivalence de garanties).

Second, for loans under €200,000 per borrower that will be repaid before the borrower turns 60, the medical questionnaire has been abolished. This is a significant simplification, though it is less relevant for typical ski property purchases where loan amounts often exceed this threshold.

Third, insurers must now display the cost of assurance emprunteur clearly on every annual statement, showing what you have paid and what you will pay over the remaining term. This transparency makes it far easier to compare alternatives. According to industry data, borrowers who switch from a bank group policy to an individual external policy save an average of 50% on their annual premium — a saving that compounds dramatically over a 15-20 year mortgage.

Non-resident buyers face specific considerations that resident French borrowers do not. The most significant is that not all external insurers accept non-resident applicants. Some French insurance companies will only cover borrowers who are fiscally resident in France or in the EU, which since Brexit excludes UK-based buyers from certain policies.

However, several specialist insurers and brokers actively serve the non-resident market. At Domosno, we work with mortgage brokers who maintain relationships with insurers experienced in covering British, American, and international buyers. The key is to ensure your broker explores delegation options early in the mortgage process — not as an afterthought once the loan offer has been signed.

Another consideration for non-residents is the quotite — the percentage of the loan covered by each borrower on a joint mortgage. French banks typically require 100% coverage on the total loan, but for a couple this can be split (for example, 50/50, 60/40, or 100/100). Choosing 100% each provides maximum protection but doubles the premium. Most advisors recommend at least 100% total coverage, with the split weighted towards the higher earner.

For older buyers — and many ski property purchasers are in the 50-65 age bracket — the medical underwriting process is more involved. Expect a detailed health questionnaire, and potentially blood tests and a medical examination for loans above certain thresholds. Starting this process early avoids delays to your purchase timeline. Our mortgage broker referrals can help you navigate this efficiently.

The single most effective way to save money is to use delegation d’assurance — choosing an external individual policy rather than accepting the bank’s group contract. External insurers price based on your individual risk profile rather than pooling risk across all borrowers, which almost always produces a lower premium for healthy applicants. As noted above, the average saving is around 50%.

Second, shop around before you sign the loan offer. Once you have a mortgage approval in principle, ask your broker to obtain quotes from at least three external insurers alongside the bank’s own proposal. The bank must accept any policy that provides equivalent guarantees — this is your legal right under the principle of delegation.

Third, take advantage of the Lemoine law if you already have a French mortgage. Even if you took out your loan years ago with the bank’s group policy, you can switch today. Contact your broker or an insurance comparison service, obtain an equivalent-coverage quote, and submit the substitution request to your bank. The bank has 10 working days to respond.

Fourth, consider the level of coverage you actually need. For a ski property that is a second home rather than your primary residence, you may not need the full ITT/IPT (inability to work) cover that French banks default to. Discuss with your broker whether a death-and-PTIA-only policy might be accepted by your lender — it will be significantly cheaper.

Fifth, if you are a non-smoker in good health, make sure your insurer classifies you correctly. Some bank group policies do not differentiate between smokers and non-smokers, meaning you may be subsidising higher-risk borrowers. An individual external policy will reward your lower risk profile with a materially lower premium.

Understanding the French insurance terminology helps you evaluate what you are paying for. Deces (death) cover means the insurer repays the outstanding mortgage balance if the borrower dies during the loan term. This is the non-negotiable core of every assurance emprunteur policy.

PTIA (Perte Totale et Irreversible d’Autonomie) covers the scenario where the borrower becomes permanently and totally unable to perform any daily activity without assistance — effectively, a catastrophic disability. Like death cover, this is a standard requirement for all French mortgage insurance.

ITT (Incapacite Temporaire de Travail) covers temporary inability to work due to illness or injury. IPT (Invalidite Permanente Totale) covers permanent total disability that prevents the borrower from working. IPP (Invalidite Permanente Partielle) covers partial permanent disability. These work-related covers are where the most variation — and the most opportunity for cost savings — exists between policies.

For a ski property purchased as a holiday home and rental investment, the key question is whether your lender will accept a policy without ITT/IPT cover. Some French banks insist on it regardless; others are more flexible for second-home purchases by non-residents who have separate income sources and existing life insurance in their home country. This is a negotiation point that a good mortgage broker will raise on your behalf.

The ideal sequence is to start exploring assurance emprunteur options as soon as you receive a mortgage agreement in principle — typically 4-8 weeks before the formal loan offer. This gives you time to complete the medical questionnaire, obtain comparative quotes, and submit a delegation request to the bank if you choose an external insurer.

If you are buying a new-build VEFA property, the timeline is often more generous because completion is staged over the construction period. For resale purchases, where completion typically occurs 2-3 months after signing the compromis de vente, you need to move quickly. The mortgage offer includes the assurance emprunteur terms, and the notaire will not complete the sale without a valid insurance certificate.

At Domosno, we coordinate with our recommended mortgage brokers to ensure the insurance question is addressed early and does not become a bottleneck. The buying process page on our website outlines the full timeline from offer to completion, including where assurance emprunteur fits in. Our goal is to make the process transparent and stress-free — no middlemen, no faff, and no nasty surprises at the final signing.