Understanding the Structure of Life Insurance Market

Study Notes

The life insurance market has a complex structure with multiple stakeholders.
Distributors (such as banks) sell life insurance contracts directly to clients.
Insurers (such as Apicil and Generali) offer life insurance contracts and insure against various risks.
Brokers act as intermediaries between insurers and clients, offering the best contract on the market.
Managers under mandate are professionals who manage clients' contracts and make investment decisions.
Management companies (such as Pictet and Lazard) manage specialized funds and seek performance.
Euro funds, which guarantee the starting capital to all subscribers, are invested in bonds selected by insurers.
Bonds guarantee a return and security, as issuers are carefully selected and rated by financial rating agencies.
Units of account are another investment option for life insurance contracts, including real estate, UCITS/FCP, structured products, and ETFs/trackers.
Open-architecture life insurance contracts provide access to a wider range of funds, allowing for greater diversification.
Live securities are stocks or bonds found on the stock market or in securities accounts.
Private equity investments aim to finance growth or transmission of unlisted intermediate-sized companies.
FCPRs are a type of private equity investment that arrived in life insurance contracts in 2015.
Units of account in life insurance may have high access thresholds.
Life insurance has tax and heritage advantages and allows for beneficiary designation.
Beneficiary clauses can be standard or free and can be modified at any time.
Life insurance is out of estate and can include non-family beneficiaries.
Opinionway study found 73% of French people find savings products incomprehensible.
Life insurance is a complex but valuable savings product.
Private equity and real estate investments may require leaving a large part of savings.