French Insurance Code

The undertakings referred to in Article L. 310-1 having their registered office in France and the undertakings referred to in 1° of III of Article L. 310-1-1 must be incorporated in the form of a société anonyme, a société d’assurance mutuelle or a société européenne.

The registered office of insurance and reinsurance undertakings having their head office in France must be located within the territory of the Republic. The registered office of foreign insurance undertakings authorised under Articles L. 321-7 or L. 329-1 must be located in the same territory as their head office.

In this Code : 1° The term “sociétés de groupe d’assurance” refers to parent undertakings within the meaning of Article L. 356-1 which are not mixed financial holding companies within the meaning of Article L. 517-4 of the Monetary and Financial Code and whose main business consists of acquiring and managing holdings within the meaning of 10° of Article L. 310-3 in undertakings subject to State control pursuant to Article…

Where the insurance group company has a strong and lasting financial relationship with an undertaking which does not result from holdings within the meaning of 10° of Article L. 310-3, this relationship is defined by an affiliation agreement. An undertaking may not affiliate to a société de groupe d’assurance defined in article L. 322-1-2, to a union mutualiste de groupe defined in article L. 111-4-2 of the Code de la…

The articles of association of mutual insurance group companies may specify a raison d’être, consisting of the principles which the company adopts and for which it intends to allocate resources in order to carry out its activity.

The conclusion by a company of an affiliation agreement with an insurance group company or the termination of such an agreement are subject to prior declaration to the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution. The latter has a period of time, set by decree in the Conseil d’Etat, from receipt of the application to oppose the proposed transaction if it appears to be contrary to the interests of policyholders….

Mutual insurance companies may form a mutual insurance group with legal personality. The articles of association of this grouping may provide for it to be open to bodies in the following categories: 1° Bodies governed by Title 3 of Book 9 of the Social Security Code or by II of Article L. 727-2 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code; 2° Mutual insurers and unions governed by Book II of…