Restaurant owners are among the professions affected by the freezing of insurance premiums.

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SYSPEO / SIPA

  • The government has secured a 2021 premium freeze from insurers for restaurateurs and other sectors affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

  • In return, insurance companies should avoid an additional tax.

  • The marketing of "pandemic insurance" is not yet on the agenda.

Clearly, insurers are not at the party with the Covid-19.

While the procedures for compensation related to the pandemic are multiplying, they found themselves under pressure by Bruno Le Maire to freeze on their own the contributions of the hotel and catering industry in 2021. Otherwise, suggested the executive, they would be entitled to an additional tax via a Senate amendment.

After a weekend of tension - the boss of Axa France going so far as to speak of "blackmail" - the insurance companies finally accepted the ministerial injunction on Monday, after a videoconference meeting.

What did the meeting on Monday give?

"A good deal", according to Bruno Le Maire.

For 2021, insurance companies have undertaken not to increase the prices of their “professional multi-risk” contracts for hotels and restaurants, tourism, events, sport and culture, “because these are all sectors that suffer the most from the pandemic ”, explained the Minister.

The only condition: the structures must have fewer than 250 employees.

Bercy also ensures that if a company pays its insurance contributions late in the first quarter of 2021, it will still retain its guarantees over the period.

In return, insurers should escape the tax proposed by senators, since the presidential majority will not support the measure in the Assembly, which has the last word.

"We consider that we can make this effort," explains

Stéphane Désert, general manager of the Mutuelle de Poitiers Assurances

to

20 Minutes

.

He also ensures that this freeze in certain sectors will not result in an increase in contributions for other policyholders: "We have no shareholders to pay and we can manage over the long term".

It remains to be seen whether other insurance companies will be as generous ...

Why was Bercy so keen to reach an agreement?

If the government wanted such a gesture, it is because the hotel and restaurant sector has been one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19.

Already forced to close at the time of the first confinement, bars and restaurants had to lower the curtain again at the end of October.

Their reopening is scheduled, at best, for the end of January.

Faced with this catastrophic situation for their turnover, the government has provided assistance (partial unemployment covered at 100%, assumption of part of the losses, exemption from contributions, etc.).

But he also wanted insurers to do their part and not burden the finances of already struggling companies.

In addition, in order to avoid the proliferation of these legal disputes, Bercy announced on Monday that the insurance mediator, who until now dealt with disputes with individuals, will now be able to manage business cases.

"We must get out of this logic of conflict," urged Bruno Le Maire.

The minister hopes that the agreement reached on Monday will make it possible to limit the often time-consuming litigation which can be very costly, both for insurance companies (if they lose) and for companies (if they do not get anything).

Last May, after the first confinement, several restaurateurs had indeed contacted their insurance to be compensated following their forced closure and the loss of their turnover.

However, insurers felt that their contracts did not cover the risk of a global epidemic, and therefore that they had nothing to pay.

Some business leaders have contested this point of view and have won their case in commercial courts, but others have seen their claims rejected.

For next year, insurers have taken the lead: the pandemic risk will be explicitly excluded from conventional contracts.

Will companies be able to insure themselves against a pandemic in the future?

In its press release, the Ministry of the Economy explains that insurers are "finalizing their work" on a possible "pandemic insurance" which could be offered to companies.

In view of the possibly reimbursable amounts, such an insurance contract could therefore require very high contributions.

But Bruno Le Maire assured him: pandemic insurance will "not be compulsory".

Instead, those who want to guard against a future global epidemic will be able to opt for "individual solutions", for example by making provisions (ie putting money aside) on conditions " fiscally advantageous ”.

The outlines of such a device remain to be clarified.

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  • Coronavirus

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  • Trade

  • Economy

  • Insurance

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