How do I complain about my insurer?

Step one: complain to the insurer

The Autorité des marchés financiers recommends first raising your concerns with the insurer, which often resolves the dispute. Failing that, file a formal written complaint; the AMF publishes a complaint form for that purpose, and the insurer's website must explain its complaint-handling policy and where to send it.

What the insurer must do

According to the AMF, a business receiving your complaint must send you an acknowledgment of receipt, handle the complaint fairly, and give you its final response in writing, with a settlement offer where applicable. It must also offer you the option of transferring your file to the AMF.

Transfer to the AMF

If the response does not satisfy you, complete the transfer form and send it to the insurer; the AMF then receives a copy of your complaint file. It reviews it and, where appropriate, may offer conciliation or mediation.

This is a voluntary process: the AMF cannot force a party to take part. It can, however, use the information in its oversight work, remind the business of its obligations, and even open an investigation.

What a complaint does not do

The AMF says so itself: the complaint process does not interrupt the prescribed deadline for bringing proceedings before the courts. An action against an insurer is generally prescribed by three years (article 2925).

Conciliation and mediation do not produce a judgment. If the insurer refuses to settle, the question will be decided in court.

Complaint or lawsuit?

They are not mutually exclusive. If the three-year deadline is approaching, filing a judicial application before it expires interrupts prescription, provided it is served no later than 60 days after the deadline expires (article 2892). A complaint can continue in parallel.

Writing a useful complaint

Be factual and precise: dates, policy and claim numbers, the decision you dispute, the clause the insurer relies on, and exactly what you are asking for. Attach the documents. A clear complaint is handled faster, and it already forms the basis of any future file.