Market Intelligence: Roederer analyses the key issues in the French P&C market

At the halfway point of the year, the French market is facing two key developments that we feel it is important to bring to the attention of our international partners, as they present significant challenges for your clients operating in our territory. We analyse:

QBE is withdrawing from the ten-year liability market in France

In France, any company involved in a construction project as a contractor (contracting firm), whether providing physical or intellectual services, is required to take out ten-year liability insurance.

This obligation, established by the Spinetta Law, aims to protect the client from defects that may affect their building, namely:

Defects likely to render the building unfit for its intended purpose,
Defects affecting the structural integrity of the building.

This insurance must be taken out on the start date of the building works and remains valid for 10 years following the handover of the building (i.e. the transfer of ownership from the builder to the client). It is transferred to subsequent purchasers in the event of the transfer or sale of a building.

This insurance model, mandated by the Civil Code, is governed by a capitalization system, whereby the premium collected in the year of construction begins is used to pay for all claims that may arise during the 10-year period covered by the guarantee.

According to the French Insurance Federation, the overall market for ten-year liability insurance in France accounts for 10 to 15% of the construction insurance market and comprises around 600,000 active policies.

The reasons for this withdrawal

Not all insurers operating in the French market offer this type of capitalization-based insurance, and QBE accounts for around 5.7% of the market share in this sector, representing approximately €220 million in premiums according to Argus de l’Assurance. For QBE, this withdrawal means the cancellation of nearly half of the gross premiums issued by the company in France.

The insurer’s aim is to focus on emerging risks, prevention and support for businesses operating internationally, and high-service-level segments, according to Delphine Leroy, Managing Director for France.

This decision will result in a redundancy plan affecting around 30 people.

A market already in a vulnerable state

From a broader perspective, ten-year liability insurers are currently facing rising construction costs and an increase in claims, calling their business model into question.

We believe this withdrawal will significantly disrupt our market, which is already operating in a tense environment where MMA, a major insurer in the sector, withdrew two years ago, creating significant challenges in re-insuring risks as well as situations where companies were unable to find sustainable insurance solutions.

Our advice is therefore to plan as far ahead as possible for the renewal of ten-year liability contracts and to seek the support of specialists in placing these risks.

With our dedicated team on this issue, we are actively preparing for this and are at the service of our clients and prospects to negotiate renewals and the placement of risks.

The cyber insurance market in France: increased competition among insurers

The latest LUCY cyber risk study, conducted annually by AMRAE (Association for Corporate Risk and Insurance Management, the leading professional association for the corporate risk and insurance sectors in France), is now available and allows us to confirm our analysis of the cyber insurance market in France.

This study highlights several trends in our market:

The volume of claims paid by cyber insurers in France is rising, increasing from €55 million in 2024 to €83 million in 2025 (+53%), with the number of claims rising to 1,251 from 448 (+179%); with medium-sized enterprises being the hardest hit; the loss ratio is therefore set to rise in 2025, increasing from 17% to 22% (compared with 190% in 2020, for the record);
At the same time, the number of companies covered for cyber risk is increasing, particularly in the mid-sized business market (from 1,145 to 2,002, i.e. +75%), with smaller mid-sized businesses having taken out a significant number of these policies with lower cover limits,
There has been a slump in the market for premium rates and excesses, indicating a very soft market. Consequently, large companies have seen their rates fall by an average of 32%, with a parallel increase in their capacity of 18% and a reduction in excesses of 21%. For medium-sized companies, rates have plummeted by 23% and excesses by 17%, against a slight reduction in capacity due to the massive influx of new insured companies.

These findings confirm what we observe on a daily basis: the very soft market for cyber risk has taken hold in France.

This phenomenon can be explained in our market by the entry of new players such as Insurtech firms (STOIK, DATTAK) and the creation of numerous MGAs in the sector, leading to a sudden increase in capacity.

We therefore strongly recommend re-tendering these policies for those taken out in France so that our clients can benefit from this market trend.