Borrower insurance
Mortgage insurance share: 100/100 or 50/50, how to choose as a couple
What remains due to the survivor depending on the chosen split, the overlooked effect on sickness benefit, and a decision grid based on the income gap.
The share determines the portion of the capital that the insurer repays for each life. With full coverage for each person, the loan is settled upon the death of one; with a half-and-half split, the other half remains due to the survivor, on a single income. The choice therefore rests on one question: can the remaining instalments be met on a single income? The same share generally applies to sickness benefit and to invalidity.
By Sandy MASCART, mandataire d'intermédiaire en opérations de banque et en services de paiement ORIAS 26000541 sous le mandat de CDV PATRIMOINE & ASSURANCE (ORIAS 14005573)
Key points
- The share determines the portion of the capital that the insurer repays for each life, not the portion of the debt owed to the lender.
- Upon the death of one of the borrowers, the insurer repays the share corresponding to their quota; the remainder remains due to the survivor.
- An equal split between the two lives is only defensible if the remaining instalments remain manageable on the sole income of the survivor.
- The incapacity and invalidity guarantees follow the same share as the death guarantee, unless the contract stipulates otherwise.
- The share can be modified during the loan term by substituting the contract, but any increase requires a new agreement from the insurer.
The insurance share determines what remains to be paid if one of the two borrowers dies or stops working. The reflex of “50/50” is the one that offers the least protection: decide for your couple, and see the rest in the borrower insurance file.
What is the borrower insurance share?
The share of the capital covered per person, from zero to one hundred per cent. The lenders require at least one hundred per cent for the couple, two hundred at the maximum.
- 50/50: each person is covered for half. Total: 100 %.
- 100/100: each person is covered for the whole. Total: 200 %.
- Asymmetric, of the type 70/30 or 100/50, when the incomes differ.
Each person remains liable for the entire debt: the share only states which part the insurer repays.
What happens in the event of death, depending on the share?
The insurer repays the share of the deceased; the surviving person pays the rest on a single income. It is this remainder that guides the choice, not the price.
| Allocation | Share repaid on the death of one | What remains due to the survivor |
|---|---|---|
| 50/50 | Half of the outstanding capital | The other half, on a single income |
| 100/100 | The whole of the outstanding capital | Nothing: the loan is settled |
| 70/30 (death of the person at 70 %) | 70 % of the outstanding capital | 30 %, on a single income |
| 70/30 (death of the person at 30 %) | 30 % of the outstanding capital | 70 %, on a single income |
One single question: “does the remaining instalment fit on a single income?” If not, the share is too low. The bank’s calculation: the borrowing capacity of a couple. The continuation: death, insurance and succession, declaring a claim.
What does a 200% share actually cost?
The cost follows the sum of the shares, at the rate for each person: it only doubles if both profiles are identical.
Request two proposals to the nearest share and compare the total cost in euros. Set the additional cost against what it avoids: half of a capital borne by a single person.
Choose according to your situation
| Your situation | Allocation to examine first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One income carries most of the capacity | 100% on that income, significant share on the other | The loss of the main income takes the budget with it |
| Similar incomes, no dependants | 50/50 defensible if the instalment passes on one income | Symmetrical exposure |
| Similar incomes, children to support | Move towards 100/100 | The survivor assumes the debt and family charges |
| Long remaining term | Increase the share | The exposure lasts |
| Only one borrower insurable | Concentrate the share, examine the alternatives | See the AERAS agreement |
Large income gap: do not put everything on one person, the other income also pays the instalment. Difficult access for health reasons: refusal and AERAS agreement.
And in case of work stoppage or invalidity?
The share also applies: insured at fifty per cent, you only receive half of the instalment, which remains due in full.
- décès
- perte totale et irréversible d’autonomie (PTIA)
- incapacité temporaire totale (ITT)
- invalidité permanente totale (IPT)
- invalidité permanente partielle (IPP)
- perte d’emploi
Le modèle officiel énumère ces familles et les fait cocher ; il ne les définit pas. Leur contenu exact reste contractuel. Les garanties d'incapacité et d'invalidité obéissent à la même quotité que la garantie décès, sauf stipulation contraire du contrat.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Légifrance
Choose the share for all guarantees: PTIA, ITT, IPT, IPP. At equal share, also read the deductible, the mode of compensation and the definition of ITT.
Can the sum insured be changed during the loan?
Yes, by changing the policy, at any time. An increase requires the insurer's agreement, and the sum insured must remain at least at the minimum required by the lender.
- The Lemoine Act: check the sum insured on the amendment, and the continuity of cover.
- Release from joint and several liability: the sum insured transfers to the remaining borrower, buyout of the balance.
- The sum insured counts towards the removal of the health questionnaire.
Rental investment or SCI: a different logic.
Two questions before deciding
"If one of you were to pass away tomorrow, would the instalment be covered by the remaining income?" "If one of you stopped working for six months, who would pay the uncovered share?"
Can the instalment be met by each income alone? Create your file or have the two scenarios tested over the phone.
This article is for informational purposes. The insurance intermediary activity is carried out as an ancillary activity to the intermediary activity in banking operations: it does not constitute an offer of insurance, nor personalised advice on a specific contract.
Sources
Read next
- Home loan insurance in Lyon: Sandy MASCART
- Mortgage in Lyon: frequently asked questions
- Mortgage insurance for a rental investment: which coverages to reduce and which to keep For rental properties: the cover the lender really requires, what can be reduced, the cumulative-limit trap, and the case of a property company (SCI).
- Borrowing as a couple: the true calculation of your joint borrowing capacity, and how to protect each partner Borrowing as a couple: what the bank actually adds up, what it examines next, and how to protect an unequal contribution in the deed.
- Buyout of the equalisation payment and release from joint liability: keeping the property and taking over the loan alone Equalisation payment, transfer duty, bank consent, deadlines: what you need to arrange to keep the property and take over the loan alone after a separation.
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