What is the limitation period applicable to actions related to a life insurance contract?

Verified 08 October 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

The limitation period shall be time beyond which the implementation of a right or a legal claim is not more admissible. For example, if you take legal action after the expiry of the limitation period, the court will refuse to consider your claim.

The performance of the life insurance contract may give rise to disputes between the insurance company and the following persons:

  • Subscriber (for example, litigation related to the insurer's refusal to return the funds following the policyholder's waiver of his contract)
  • Insured (e.g. dispute over the validity of the contract entered into on his head without his written consent)
  • Beneficiary (for example, litigation related to the insurer's refusal to pay the savings following the death of the insured)
  • Third parties (for example, litigation related to the challenge of beneficiary status to the person named in the contract).

In the field of insurance, there is a 2 years which applies to actions arising from the contract. We're talking about the biennial prescription.

In general, actions related to the performance of an insurance contract shall be introduced within a period of 2 years from the event which is the basis of the request.

Example :

When the life insurance contract has expired and the beneficiary asks the insurer to pay him the accumulated savings, the event that is the basis of the request is the expiry of the contract. In this case, the 2-year period begins to run from the end date of the life insurance contract.

The limitation period is longer when you are the beneficiary a life insurance contract that has been taken out by another person. In this case, the limitation period is 10 years from the date of death of the insured.

Example :

When the beneficiary asks the insurer to pay him the principal, the event that is the basis of the request is the death of the insured. In this case, the 10-year period begins to run from the date of death of the insured.

But if you are the beneficiary and you were not aware of the insured's death at the time it occurred, the limitation period does not begin until the day you became aware of it, provided you can prove that you were unaware of the death.

There is a limit to this postponement of the starting point of the limitation period: your action will not be admissible if it is brought more than 30 years after the death of the insured, even if you did not know about it earlier.

FYI  

After 10 years from the date on which the insurer became aware of the death, it transfers the unclaimed amounts to the Caisse des dépôts et consignations. Your right is not lost but, to recover the sums that are due to you, you can no longer act against the insurer. You must then act with the Caisse des dépôts et consignations, via its online service Ciclade.

The starting point of the limitation period is also delayed for the insurer when it has not been aware of the risk because of the reluctance, theomissionor the insured's false statement. In such cases, the starting point shall be the day on which the insurer became aware of the risk.

The limitation period may be interrupted by one of the following events:

  • Recognition by the insurer of the right of the insured or recognition of the debt
  • Legal action initiated
  • Sending a command or seizure
  • Sending of a registered or registered letter, with acknowledgement of receipt, by the insurer to the insured in respect of the action for payment of the premium
  • Sending a registered or registered letter electronically, with acknowledgement of receipt, by the insured to the insurer regarding the settlement of the indemnity.

The limitation period may also be suspended in the event of recourse to the mediation or to the conciliation to resolve a dispute with the insurer. The suspension shall start from the moment the persons concerned decide to refer the matter to a mediator or conciliator. If there is no written appeal, the suspension starts from the first meeting. At the end from mediation or conciliation, the limitation period starts running again for the remaining period, which may not be less than 6 months.

Please note

To protect the insured, any life insurance contract must recall the limitation periods for actions arising from the contract. The information must make it possible to identify the starting points of the prescription and the causes of interruption of the prescription.

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