Equivalence of guarantees
Equivalence of guarantees is the legal standard that allows a borrower to replace their bank's group insurance policy with an individual contract, provided the alternative offers at least the same level of coverage. It protects borrowers from arbitrary rejection of substitution requests, since a lender may only refuse a delegation if the proposed guarantees are objectively insufficient.
Key points
- The lender must justify any refusal in writing, specifying which guarantees are insufficient.
- The CCSF has published a reference checklist of criteria for each guarantee type.
- Equivalence is assessed guarantee by guarantee, not on an overall basis.
- In case of dispute, the borrower may refer the matter to the banking ombudsman.
- The Lemoine Act (2022) strengthened this right by allowing cancellation at any time.
Frequently asked questions
How does a bank justify rejecting an equivalence claim?
The bank must send a written rejection within ten business days of receiving the complete file, specifically identifying which guarantees fall short of its published criteria list. It cannot refuse on commercial or pricing grounds — only on protection-level grounds.
Why does equivalence of guarantees matter to a borrower?
Without this mechanism, lenders could systematically impose their own group contract, which is often more expensive than alternatives. Equivalence of guarantees creates genuine competition in the borrower-insurance market, potentially saving borrowers several thousand euros over the life of the loan.
What is the difference between equivalence of guarantees and insurance delegation?
Insurance delegation is the legal mechanism allowing a borrower to subscribe an individual policy instead of the bank's group contract. Equivalence of guarantees is the quality standard that individual policy must meet for the bank to accept the delegation. One is the right; the other is the condition for exercising it.
In practice
Marie takes out a mortgage and wants to switch to a cheaper individual policy. Her broker checks the bank's CCSF criteria point by point — death, total and permanent disability, temporary work incapacity — and confirms the alternative contract meets all of them. The bank therefore cannot block the delegation.
Put it into practice with CourtImmo
See how CourtImmo software helps brokers on this topic:
Official sources
- Obtaining a borrower insurance contract · Service-Public.gouv.fr
- Law of 28 February 2022 (Lemoine) · Vie-publique.fr