Property · Optimising your mortgage
Paying less once you have signed
Loan signed and done? Most of the savings are still ahead of you. Two levers: switching your borrower's insurance (assurance emprunteur, the death-and-disability cover a French lender requires on a mortgage) — often the largest pot, free of charge and open at any time thanks to the loi Lemoine — and renegotiating or refinancing the rate when the gap justifies it.
The first lever
Borrower's insurance, an underrated cost
Loan insurance often accounts for 25% to 35% of the total cost of a mortgage (the share varies with age, profile and term; a market order of magnitude). It is the most accessible saving of all, because it can be changed at no cost.
The quotité: who is covered, and for how much
The quotité is the share of the capital covered for each insured person. On your own, you are at 100%. As a couple, the quotités must add up to at least 100% (50/50, 70/30 or 100/100, for example). Cover of 100/100 (that is, 200% in total) protects each borrower in full, but naturally costs more.
The guarantees: the core and the add-ons
Death (DC) and PTIA (total and irreversible loss of autonomy) form the core that every bank requires. Depending on your profile, you may add ITT (total temporary incapacity for work), IPT (total permanent disability, disability ≥ 66%) and IPP (partial permanent disability, between 33% and 66%). The bank requires at minimum cover equivalent to its own group policy.
Orders of magnitude — indicative, 2026
A bank group policy sits at around 0.30% to 0.42% of the capital a year; a délégation can come down towards 0.10% to 0.20% a year for a young, non-smoking profile. Switching typically saves in the region of €5,000 to €15,000 over the life of the loan.
Market figures drawn from commercial sources and brokers, given purely as an indication: they depend heavily on age, amount, term and state of health. Indicative at the date shown (checked 07/2026) and liable to change: have personalised quotes drawn up.
The legal framework
Loi Lemoine: cancel and replace at any time
Law no. 2022-270 of 28 February 2022 (known as the loi Lemoine) made changing borrower's insurance simple and free. Three concrete changes.
Cancellation at any time
Replacing the policy with no fee and no penalty, without waiting for a renewal date (in force since 1 June 2022 for new contracts, and 1 September 2022 for contracts already running).
Health questionnaire dropped
No medical questionnaire where two cumulative conditions are met: the share insured per person is ≤ €200,000 and the loan is repaid before the insured person's 60th birthday.
Droit à l'oubli widened
The period after which a past illness no longer has to be declared: cut from 10 to 5 years after the end of the treatment protocol for past cancers, and extended to hepatitis C.
The délégation: insuring elsewhere
Taking out the insurance with an insurer other than your bank is called a délégation. It has been possible from the outset of the loan since the loi Lagarde (2010), provided the cover is at least equivalent: this is the principle of equivalence of guarantees. On that ground alone, the bank can neither refuse the délégation nor raise the rate on the loan. The same principle governs a mid-loan switch under the loi Lemoine.
Effective dates and thresholds (€200,000 / 60 years) checked 07/2026; this framework can change, so check the rule in force on service-public.fr at the time you make your move.
A renegotiation is won with a rival offer in hand
Your bank rarely moves unless it is pushed. A costed proposal from another lender is the only argument that carries weight.
Estimate
Work out your real saving
This calculator compares your monthly payment at your current rate and then at the new one, deducts the IRA (capped) and the fees, and prices the insurance lever separately. Everything is worked out in your browser — nothing is sent to our servers.
Le montant qu'il vous reste à rembourser (hors intérêts), lisible sur votre dernier relevé ou tableau d'amortissement.
Taux nominal de votre prêt. Défaut 4 % : profil type des crédits souscrits au pic 2023-2024, cible d'une renégociation en 2026.
Taux visé. Défaut 3,35 % : moyenne de marché ~20 ans début 2026 (Observatoire Crédit Logement/CSA) — à confronter aux offres reçues.
Nombre d'années restantes (et durée du nouveau prêt). La renégociation est surtout rentable dans la première moitié du crédit.
Frais du nouveau prêt : dossier (~500 à 1 500 €) + garantie (caution ou hypothèque). Défaut 1 500 €.
- Gain net estimé
- 4 180 €
- Après 3 000 € d'IRA et 1 500 € de frais, sur 15 ans.
Sur les mensualités
- Mensualité actuelle (hors assurance)
- 1 110 €
- Nouvelle mensualité (hors assurance)
- 1 061 €
- Économie mensuelle
- 48 €/mois
- Économie d'intérêts sur 15 ans
- 8 680 €
Coûts de l'opération
- Indemnités (IRA)
- 3 000 €
- Frais de dossier + garantie
- 1 500 €
- Gain net sur le crédit
- 4 180 €
Volet assurance (approché)
- Économie d'assurance / an (en moyenne)
- 73 €/an
- Économie d'assurance sur 15 ans
- 1 102 €
An estimate, not advice
Indicative estimate, not a contractual offer — the actual terms depend on your own situation and are set by the institution or the tax authority. Check with a professional.
Repères de rentabilité (usage marché, non réglementaires) : écart de taux d'au moins 0,7 à 1 point, capital restant dû supérieur à ~70 000 € et prêt encore dans sa première moitié. Le volet assurance suppose une prime assise sur le capital restant dû, qui décroît avec l'amortissement : l'économie annoncée est une MOYENNE sur la durée, plus forte les premières années et plus faible les dernières. Si votre contrat actuel est, lui, assis sur le capital initial (fréquent en contrat groupe bancaire), l'économie réelle sera supérieure à celle affichée. Dans tous les cas, comparez au vrai indicateur légal, le TAEA. En rachat concurrentiel, les IRA peuvent s'appliquer : reportez le montant exact de votre offre. Taux 2026 indicatifs, à revérifier avant toute décision.
Open the calculator full screen with its detailed method, or work out a new monthly payment from scratch.
The second lever
Renegotiating or refinancing the rate: when?
The move is generally worthwhile if three conditions come together (market rules of thumb, not regulatory ones).
Condition 1
A gap of ≥ 0.7 to 1 point
Between your current rate and the new rate you are aiming for. Below that, the costs absorb most of the gain.
Condition 2
A large outstanding balance
Often quoted as above €70,000: the larger the balance, the more the rate gap weighs.
Condition 3
The first half of the loan
Interest is concentrated at the start: that is where a fall in the rate pays off most.
Renegotiation: with your own bank
You sign a simple avenant (an amendment) to the existing contract. No early repayment charges, but there are amendment fees. It is quicker, though your bank does not always have an interest in cutting the rate sharply.
Refinancing: with a rival bank
A new loan pays off the old one. It triggers the IRA, fresh arrangement fees and a new guarantee (a caution from a guarantee company, or a mortgage charge), but often unlocks a better rate — and gives you the leverage to make your current bank react.
The costs to deduct
Capped IRA and the other fees
The legal cap on the IRA
Early repayment charges (IRA, indemnités de remboursement anticipé) cannot exceed the smaller of two amounts:
- six months' interest on the capital repaid, at the average rate of the loan;
- 3% of the outstanding balance before repayment.
Articles R.313-25 and L.313-47 of the French Consumer Code (checked 07/2026).
The other costs of refinancing
To fold into the payback calculation: the arrangement fees (a market order of magnitude, often in the region of €500 to €1,500) and the guarantee fees on the new loan (a caution in the region of 1% to 2% of the capital, or a mortgage charge plus the cost of releasing the one on the old loan). The gain is only real if the interest you save exceeds IRA + arrangement + guarantee combined.
Indicative market ranges, liable to change (checked 07/2026).
Market benchmarks
Where are rates in 2026?
Renegotiating is aimed above all at loans taken out at the 2023-2024 peak, often at rates above 4%.
According to the Observatoire Crédit Logement/CSA (May 2026, indicative values), average rates were around 3.12% over 15 years, 3.34% over 20 years and 3.37% over 25 years. In parallel, the taux d'usure (the legal maximum TAEG) for fixed-rate loans of 20 years and more stood at 5.29% in the third quarter of 2026 (in force from 1 July to 30 September 2026): insurance and fees count towards that TAEG, so it is worth watching for a refinancing.
Indicative at the date shown (checked 07/2026) and liable to change: market rates move every month (Observatoire Crédit Logement) and the taux d'usure every quarter (Banque de France). Check the current values before taking any decision.
Frequently asked questions
Insurance, IRA, renegotiation
Short, sourced answers — nothing here is personalised advice.
Can I really change my borrower’s insurance whenever I want?
Yes. Since the loi Lemoine (law no. 2022-270 of 28 February 2022), you can cancel and replace your loan insurance at any time, with no fee and no penalty, without waiting for a renewal date. The new policy must offer a level of cover at least equivalent to what the bank requires (the principle of equivalence of guarantees); the bank then cannot refuse the switch or change the rate on your loan. Checked 07/2026.
How do I compare two borrower’s insurance policies objectively?
Do not compare the headline rates on their own, because they are not always calculated on the same base (the initial capital for many bank group policies, the outstanding balance for most policies taken elsewhere). The right yardstick is the TAEA (taux annuel effectif de l’assurance), a standardised indicator that isolates the cost of the insurance, and above all the total cost over the remaining term, at equivalent quotité and guarantees.
At what rate gap does renegotiating become worthwhile?
In practice (market rules of thumb, not regulatory ones), three conditions are generally needed: a gap of at least 0.7 to 1 point between your current rate and the new one, a significant outstanding balance (often quoted as above €70,000) and a loan still in the first half of its repayment, where the interest is concentrated. Below that, the costs (IRA, guarantee, arrangement) absorb most of the gain. Always work out your own case before deciding.
What is the cap on early repayment charges (IRA)?
For a mortgage, the IRA cannot exceed the smaller of two amounts: six months’ interest on the capital repaid at the average rate of the loan, or 3% of the outstanding balance before repayment (articles R.313-25 and L.313-47 of the French Consumer Code). Some cases are exempt (article L.313-48): sale of the property following a job relocation, death, or the forced cessation of employment of the borrower or their spouse. Checked 07/2026.
Should I change the insurance first, or renegotiate the rate?
Changing the insurance is often the safest and most rewarding lever to pull first: it is free, possible at any time thanks to the loi Lemoine, and there are no IRA and no guarantee fees to earn back. Renegotiating or refinancing the rate, by contrast, is only worth it if the rate gap is wide enough to cover those costs. The two levers can be combined.
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