How fair are French car insurances?

When asked about their perception of car insurances in France, 42 percent of the French completely or somewhat agreed on the system used to calculate car insurances being unfair. Looking at higher performance vehicles in particular, the CLARK study also showed more than half of the participants (64 percent) completely or somewhat agreeing with the assumption that car insurance companies actively penalise such policyholders. Moreover, 47 percent of the French in the CLARK study completely or somewhat agree that new customers are given preferential treatment by car insurance companies.

To make the handling of insurance claims more objective and fair, the EU requires all new cars to be equipped with a black box, starting January 2022. In general, 61 percent of the respondents in the CLARK study supported the introduction. Reasons for this are for example that black boxes will improve the investigation of accidents (29 percent) and that the pros in regards to these data recording systems outweigh the cons (11 percent).

Out of the 27 percent that are against the black boxes, 12 percent are against them in general and 15 percent are concerned about their data.

France’s move towards more ecofriendliness

In the light of the EU’s 2030 climate targets, many European countries are becoming more eco-conscious. And the participants of the french CLARK study make no exception: Half of them (50 percent) are completely or somewhat annoyed by insurance-related paperwork. Digitalisation can not only save paper and thereby contribute to climate goals, but also simplify many insurance processes, for example. Similarly, 35 percent of respondents of the CLARK study rate digital insurance offers as very interesting. In several other European countries, there are already providers that offer digital insurance solutions. One example is the insurtech CLARK in Germany and Austria, which offers consumers an app to manage, compare and optimise all of their insurances digitally.

[1] Note on the study: The data used is based on an online survey conducted by the YouGov Deutschland GmbH, in which 1005 people participated in the period from 20th until 21st July 2021. The results were weighted and are representative of the French population aged 18 and over.