Health benefits

Why choose Howden?

We collaborate with you to craft tailored health insurance plans and provide ongoing policy management. Our approach is transparent, aimed at enhancing your understanding and ensuring a seamless experience. Complementary health insurance in the French system involves specific concepts. Below, we offer an overview to simplify your comprehension.

Social Security: The Basics

Social Security: The Basics The social security system is mandatory for all French citizens, providing partial coverage for their healthcare expenses. Established by French ordinances in October 1945, this system is built on the principle of national solidarity, ensuring everyone has access to social protection. Contributions are based on individual resources rather than risk factors.

Most treatments covered by the French social security system follow a reimbursement scale known as BRSS (Base de Remboursement de Sécurité Sociale) that you'll often find on your benefit statements. If you need assistance understanding and optimizing your benefits, feel free to contact us.

However, certain medical expenses are either not reimbursed or only partially covered, resulting in out-of-pocket costs for individuals. This is where complementary health insurance becomes essential!

Why is it important?

The purpose of supplementary health insurance is to reimburse healthcare expenses beyond what is covered by social security and minimize the 'remaining costs' based on the level of coverage. It can also cover expenses not included in social security, such as osteopathy or unreimbursed medication. This insurance can be either individual or group-based.

It's referred to as 'collective' because the terms and conditions established by the employer apply to some or all of the company's employees and are subject to specific regulations.

Defining Mutual and Supplementary Health Insurance: In everyday conversation, we often interchange the terms 'mutual' and 'supplementary health'. However, this is imprecise as they actually have distinct meanings! Supplementary health insurance is a type of policy that can be offered by a mutual insurance company, an insurer, or a provident institution. This is why it cannot be labeled as a 'mutual'.

Choosing Your Complementary Health Insurance in France

Depending on your situation, your company's social security policy, and your relationship with employee representatives or unions, we can assist you in selecting an organization that aligns with your needs regarding technical aspects and social considerations related to complementary health insurance.

Mutuals

Operate on the principle of solidarity among their members. They also engage in welfare, solidarity, and mutual aid activities for their members.

Insurers

These companies cover risks in exchange for contributions. To remain profitable, the total reimbursements to policyholders must not exceed the contributions received.

Provident Institutions

In France, provident institutions are governed by the Social Security Code and are private law partnerships. What sets them apart is that employee representatives or unions manage them from a specific sector or business.

Selecting the right insurer and manager involves finding one that aligns with your company's culture, priorities, and the needs of your employees.

Requesting Quotes from Insurance Companies

We search for the insurer that best matches your needs among the three categories of complementary social protection providers (companies, provident institutions, mutuals). Our expertise in employment law and actuarial science and our continuous monitoring of insurance market developments ensure an effective tendering process.