Glossary

Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution: the French authority, attached to the Banque de France, that authorises and supervises banks and insurers and oversees the protection of their customers.

A way of managing a contract in which the policyholder receives switching recommendations but makes the decisions.

French: Gestion conseilléeGerman: Beratungsmandat

Autorité des marchés financiers: the French regulator of financial markets and financial products, whose remit covers in particular the instruments offered as unit-linked funds.

Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism: the obligations of due diligence, customer knowledge and reporting to Tracfin (the French financial intelligence unit) that apply to insurers and intermediaries. In French: LCB-FT.

French: LCB-FTGerman: Geldwäsche- und Terrorismusfinanzierungsprävention

The distribution of insurance contracts through bank networks.

German: Bancassurance (Bankvertrieb von Versicherungen)

The provision that names the person or persons who will receive the capital on the death of the insured person.

French: Clause bénéficiaireGerman: Bezugsrechtsklausel

Insurance that guarantees repayment of a loan if the borrower dies, becomes disabled or is unable to work.

French: Assurance emprunteurGerman: Restschuldversicherung

Commissariat aux assurances: the supervisory authority for the insurance sector in Luxembourg.

A text of the Commissariat aux assurances that sets the investment rules for Luxembourg unit-linked life insurance contracts issued since 1 February 2026. It takes over from Circular Letter 15/3, without repealing it.

French: Lettre circulaire 26/1 du CAAGerman: CAA-Rundschreiben 26/1

A savings contract offered by an insurer, similar to life insurance but not linked to the length of a human life: it does not end on death and can be passed on.

French: Contrat de capitalisationGerman: Kapitalisierungsvertrag

An internal fund of a Luxembourg insurer that is open to several policyholders. There are five types, from N to D, each available to policyholders of the corresponding category.

French: Fonds interne collectif (FIC)German: Interner Kollektivfonds (FIC)

Commission de surveillance du secteur financier: the Luxembourg authority that supervises banks, markets and investment funds.

An internal fund of a Luxembourg insurer that underlies a single contract and has a single manager. As a rule, it requires a minimum premium of €125,000 and a policyholder in category A or above.

French: Fonds interne dédié (FID)German: Interner dedizierter Fonds (FID)

The ACPR’s inspections: desk-based, from the documents submitted; on-site, through a mission at the organisation’s premises, which ends with a report that may lead to measures or to proceedings before the Commission des sanctions.

French: Contrôle sur pièces et sur placeGerman: Prüfung nach Aktenlage und Vor-Ort-Prüfung

A way of managing a unit-linked contract in which the policyholder delegates switching decisions to a mandated manager, within an agreed investment strategy.

French: Gestion sous mandatGerman: Vermögensverwaltungsmandat

The obligation of the insurer or the distributor to propose a contract consistent with the client’s demands and needs, and to explain the reasons for that advice.

French: Devoir de conseilGerman: Beratungspflicht

A life insurance investment option whose capital is guaranteed by the insurer, which credits it each year with a share of its profits (participation aux bénéfices).

French: Fonds en eurosGerman: Euro-Fonds (kapitalgarantierter Fonds)

A life insurance investment option that guarantees all or part of the capital at a set maturity date, in return for a lower guarantee before that date.

French: EurocroissanceGerman: Eurocroissance-Fonds

The regime under which an insurer from one State of the European Economic Area can operate in another Member State through a branch. In French: liberté d’établissement (LE).

French: Liberté d’établissement (LE)German: Niederlassungsfreiheit

The regime under which an insurer authorised in one State of the European Economic Area can cover commitments located in another Member State without being established there, on the basis of its home-State authorisation (the European passport). In French: libre prestation de services (LPS).

French: Libre prestation de services (LPS)German: Dienstleistungsfreiheit

A retirement savings product created by the PACTE Act of 2019. For new subscriptions, it has replaced the PERP and the “Madelin” and “article 83” contracts.

French: Plan d’épargne retraite (PER)German: Französischer Altersvorsorgeplan (PER)

A contract taken out by a legal entity (an association, an employer, a bank) that individuals join as members.

French: Contrat d’assurance de groupeGerman: Gruppenversicherungsvertrag

An independent professional who advises clients on their wealth and who distributes, among other things, life insurance contracts as an intermediary. In French: conseiller en gestion de patrimoine (CGP).

French: Conseiller en gestion de patrimoine (CGP)German: Unabhängiger Vermögensberater (CGP)

Directive (EU) 2016/97 on insurance distribution, transposed in France in 2018. It governs the information, advice and remuneration of distributors. In French: directive sur la distribution d’assurances (DDA).

French: DDAGerman: Versicherungsvertriebsrichtlinie (IDD)

Insurance taken out by a company to protect itself against the loss of a person who is essential to its business.

French: Assurance homme cléGerman: Keyperson-Versicherung

A contract under which an insurer undertakes to pay a lump sum or an annuity, at the end of the agreed term or on the death of the insured person, in return for premiums. In France, it is also widely used as a savings and wealth transfer vehicle.

French: Assurance vieGerman: Lebensversicherung

A not-for-profit body governed by the Code de la mutualité that carries out insurance operations for the benefit of its members.

French: MutuelleGerman: Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (mutuelle)

A transaction by which an insurer transfers all or part of its contracts to another insurer, with the approval of the supervisory authority.

French: Transfert de portefeuilleGerman: Bestandsübertragung

Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014, which requires a key information document for packaged investment products, including unit-linked life insurance contracts.

German: PRIIP-Verordnung

A not-for-profit body managed jointly by employer and employee representatives and governed by the Code de la sécurité sociale, which provides in particular group protection cover for employees.

French: Institution de prévoyanceGerman: Vorsorgeeinrichtung (institution de prévoyance)

An agreement under which a reinsurer takes on part of an insurer’s risks or commitments, on terms defined for a group of contracts.

French: Traité de réassuranceGerman: Rückversicherungsvertrag

The right of the holder of a life insurance or capitalisation contract to withdraw from it within thirty days of being informed that it has been concluded. If the information documents required by law were not provided, this period is extended, for a holder acting in good faith, up to a limit of eight years.

French: Faculté de renonciationGerman: Widerrufsrecht (renonciation)

The management of a portfolio of contracts that no longer accepts new business, until the contracts come to an end.

German: Run-off (Abwicklung)

A Luxembourg policyholder protection mechanism: the assets covering the insurer’s commitments are deposited with an approved custodian bank, under a tripartite agreement between the insurer, the bank and the Commissariat aux assurances (CAA).

French: Triangle de sécuritéGerman: Sicherheitsdreieck

Directive 2009/138/EC, which sets the prudential regime for European insurers and reinsurers. It has applied since 1 January 2016 and is revised by Directive (EU) 2025/2, which applies from 30 January 2027.

French: Solvabilité IIGerman: Solvabilität II

An internal fund that underlies a single Luxembourg contract and in which each asset is chosen by the policyholder, within the investment limits of the policyholder’s category.

French: Fonds d’assurance spécialisé (FAS)German: Spezialisierter Versicherungsfonds (FAS)

The first-ranking priority right that policyholders in Luxembourg hold over the assets covering their contracts if the insurer fails.

French: Super-privilègeGerman: Superprivileg

The situation of life insurance contracts that remain unclaimed. The Eckert Act of 2014, in force since 2016, strengthens the search for insured persons and beneficiaries and provides for the sums to be transferred, after a set period, to the Caisse des dépôts. In French: déshérence.

French: DéshérenceGerman: Nachrichtenlose Verträge

A life insurance investment option linked to financial assets (funds, securities): the value of the contract follows the value of these assets, with no capital guarantee from the insurer.

French: Unité de compte (UC)German: Fondsgebundene Anlage (Unit-linked)