Life insurance in France: Historic inflows in 2025 & confirmed growth strategies for 2026–2028

In 2025, French life insurance continued its upward trajectory, driven by the decline in rates on regulated savings accounts, the recovery in returns on euro-denominated funds, and households’ structural appetite for long-term savings. Gross inflows exceeded the threshold of €192 billion, representing an increase of more than 10% compared with 2024. Beyond the favorable cycle, the market’s main players are launching ambitious strategic plans to anchor this momentum on a lasting basis.

2025 review and early 2026: A breakthrough dynamic

2025: The year of all records

The 2025 annual review published by France Assureurs on 27 January 2026 is without precedent in the last fifteen years. Three drivers are converging: the gradual decline in the Livret A rate, from 3% to 1.7% over the year, then to 1.5% in February 2026; euro fund yields maintained at a competitive level; and households’ strong propensity to save.

The key indicators speak for themselves:

• Gross inflows: €192.1bn (+10% year on year)
• Net inflows: +€50.6bn, the best result since 2010, nearly double the 2024 level (+€29.4bn) and more than twenty times the 2023 level (+€2.4bn)
• Total outstanding assets: €2,107bn at end-December, crossing the symbolic threshold of €2 trillion for the first time (+€122bn over the year)

Two dynamics deserve to be highlighted.

• Unit-linked products continued to drive gross inflows with €75bn and accounted for 39% of gross premiums. Their share of outstanding assets reached 32% at end-2025, compared with 23% in 2020 (France Assureurs): this reflects a structural adjustment in savings behavior. Unit-linked products posted a net performance of +4.7% over the year.
• At the same time, euro-denominated funds became net contributors again for the first time in five years (+€8.1bn), thanks to an average return maintained at 65% (ACPR), almost one percentage point above the Livret A.

In terms of gross inflows, the split between unit-linked products (UL) and euro-denominated funds has shown relative stability over the past few years. This stability suggests that the market has reached a level of structural balance between the search for return and risk appetite, reflecting better-calibrated distribution and a client base now accustomed to diversification strategies.

Life insurance is now part of a lasting hybrid model, combining security, diversification and gradual allocation toward higher-potential assets.

A concentrated market, contrasting dynamics

The market remains highly concentrated. According to Argus de l’assurance, the top 13 players account for more than 70% of outstanding assets (€1,486bn out of €2,107bn), with more than 50% linked to banking networks. Seven players account for around 55% of total gross inflows, a decisive illustration of the role and strength of the distribution network.

Predica (Crédit Agricole Assurances) is by far the market leader, driven by highly aggressive bonus mechanisms (preferential profit-sharing bonuses conditional on UL holdings) and the use of PPB reserves. CNP retains second place. By contrast, BPCE Vie posted the strongest momentum, with net inflows representing nearly 60% of gross inflows, illustrating a successful repositioning toward UL savings.

The channel-based analysis confirms market reshaping. Digital platforms and online banks are posting the strongest momentum. Salaried proprietary networks (€268bn in outstanding assets) are being squeezed between bancassurance and IFAs.

Early 2026: The continuation of record highs

Net inflows over the first four months reached +€24.7bn, i.e. +€7bn versus the same period in 2025 and hit a record level not seen in sixteen years. Insurance-based PER continued its rise, with 8.1 million policyholders and €114.8bn in outstanding assets at end-March 2026.

Two structural factors are driving this momentum. More than 15% of Livret A accounts are at the ceiling: households that have maxed them out are mechanically reallocating their additional savings. In addition, 3.2 million PEL accounts will mature between 2026 and 2030, representing €93bn in outstanding assets, a significant share of which could be redirected toward life insurance.

The 2025 rebound is not cyclical; it is structural. Three simultaneous drivers—restored attractiveness of euro-denominated funds, durable anchoring of UL products in savings habits, and a reservoir of captive flows (Livret A at ceiling, maturing PELs)—are shaping a market with durable growth potential. Players that fail to convert these flows in 2026–2027 will leave their competitors with a structural lead that will be difficult to catch up.

Strategic plans: How players intend to support growth

Beyond the economic backdrop, the main players have renewed their medium-term strategic plans. All are converging around four levers: upgrading toward UL products and private assets, diversification of distribution channels, digital transformation and generative AI.

Crédit Agricole Assurances ACT 2028: “Shaping Tomorrow”

Building on the success of its “Ambitions 2025” plan, with gross inflows of €29.35bn (+23%) and record net inflows above €15bn, Crédit Agricole Assurances launched its new ACT 2028 plan at the end of 2025. The ambition is clear: more than €400bn in life insurance outstanding assets (vs. €373bn at end-2025).

Three structuring vectors underpin this plan: acceleration in private assets (Amundi–ICG partnership to access private markets); strengthening of the wealth footprint through LCL’s acquisition of Milleis Banque Privée (€13bn, 64,000 families) and the integration of Milleis Vie into Spirica; and the launch of Oriance, the group’s first natively digital life insurance product, targeted at a young and autonomous client base.

CNP Assurances “Lead for Impact” 2026–2030

Launched on 25 March 2026, CNP’s plan is structured around three pillars: Accelerate, Innovate, Anchor. As France’s second-largest life insurer (€245bn), and a wholly owned subsidiary of La Banque Postale, CNP intends to diversify its channels beyond its historical network, by strengthening its presence with IFAs and online brokers. The AI for All program integrates artificial intelligence into all business processes: underwriting, administration and customer relations.

The flagship initiative is Lucya CNP, a 100% online policy available from €500, with no payment fees and UL management fees of 0.30% (including ETFs), among the most competitive offerings on the market in 2026.

AXA “Unlock the Future” 2024–2026

Within its Life & Health division, AXA is targeting growth of +4% to +6% CAGR over 2024–2026. Three levers support this ambition: expansion of proprietary distribution (+400 agents in France); operational excellence through generative AI (+3 productivity points per year).

Generali France “Boost 2027” Plan

After a record 2025 with revenue of €19.5bn, operating profit of €1.2bn, and record savings-retirement inflows with 57% in UL products, Generali is rolling out Boost 2027: +€2bn in additional premiums by end-2027, backed by €270m of investments. Parity between euro funds and UL products in outstanding assets marks the transformation of the portfolio.

Three pillars structure the plan: diversification of UL products toward real assets and infrastructure; strengthening of the salaried savings-wealth network (+200 advisers, target of 1,600); and rollout of Generali Wealth Solutions for affluent clients, in addition to the network of specialist life insurance agents (+100 by 2027).

Allianz, BNP Paribas Cardif, BPCE: Differentiated approaches, converging ambitions

Allianz France is focusing on product differentiation with its Allianz Croissance fund (3.26% return in 2025, capital guaranteed after 10 years), positioned halfway between euro funds and UL products, together with a bonus policy conditional on holding UL products (up to +1.6% in 2026–2027). Its wealth repositioning is explicit: minimum entry ticket raised to €30,000 and discontinuation of single-support euro products.

BNP Paribas Cardif, the global leader in bancassurance partnerships (500 partners in 30 countries), is intensifying its partnership model (100 new partnerships signed or renewed over two years) and accelerating fully digital journeys. The credited rate on euro funds, 2.75% in 2025, boosted up to 4.55%, remains above the market average.

BPCE reached a major strategic milestone in April 2026 with the launch of thematic evergreen funds (NEO and ATREAM Tourisme & Territoires), available in life insurance and PER with no minimum subscription amount, channeling household savings toward the real economy (SMEs, mid-caps, local infrastructure).

Three models are emerging

1. The integrated bancassurance model (Crédit Agricole Assurances, BPCE, BNP Paribas Cardif), which capitalizes on the captive distribution power of large banking networks and the industrialization of customer journeys.
2. The premium wealth management model (CNP Assurances, Generali, Allianz), which relies on long-standing expertise in wealth management, affluent positioning, and open architecture through IFAs and brokers;
3. The mutual and paritarian model (Crédit Mutuel/ACM, Aéma, AG2R La Mondiale, Malakoff Humanis), which relies on member proximity, social protection and long-term loyalty.

Within these models, all players are deploying the same diversification axes—native digital offerings, accelerated shift toward UL products, integration of generative AI, opening access to private assets. These axes do not redefine the model: they extend and broaden it.

The real challenge for 2026–2028 is no longer the “what”—the agenda is consensual—but the “how”: industrial execution capability, the speed of portfolio migration toward UL products and the depth of AI integration will determine the winners of the next decade.

Conclusion: Three tailwinds for a structurally supportive market

The trajectory of French life insurance is structurally positive. The sector benefits from three simultaneous tailwinds: euro fund yields, the lasting rise of UL products, and a macroeconomic context encouraging households to save over the long term.

Strategic plans converge around a shared conviction: growth will not come from euro funds alone, but from players’ ability to offer diversified, accessible and sustainable solutions. Crossing the €2 trillion in outstanding assets threshold marks less an arrival point than the starting point of a new decade of growth, in which differentiation will come from execution rather than from the market cycle.