37 years ago, a woman named Jacqueline made a smart decision. In November 1986, at the age of 65, she took out “death insurance” from the “Interprofessional Executive Insurance Fund”, which has since become Malakoff Humanis. “And all this to terminate the agreement with her three decades later! It’s a shame,” said her grandson Nicholas of her. Jacqueline, now 102, no longer has death insurance since she terminated her contract in October 2021, according to the newspaper Le Parisien.
Jacqueline contributed a total of €8,785 to the fund over 35 years and hoped to be able to finance her funeral with this amount saved, as well as allowing her family to receive interest at the time of her death. Today, this money is irretrievably lost, despite the anger of her relatives. The family contacted the mediation service of the Mutualité française to try to reach a compromise, but the situation was deadlocked.
The last possible way out is to go to court under article 1103 of the French Civil Code, which states that both parties can “fulfill their obligations” only “by mutual consent.” “Given my grandmother’s advanced age, the court proceedings will be long and tedious. The insurer knows it and uses it,” Nicolás told the publication. In his defense, Malakoff Humanis, who did not want to rule on this dispute, recalls that these deductions for “loss of funds” exist in other areas, particularly in the case of car or home insurance: “You pay, but you can than never having a claim,” says the insurer.
