Life Insurance: A Record-Breaking First Half of 2026, Totaling 36.5 Billion Euros
Record net inflows in June, premiums at an all-time high, assets under management at 2,162 billion euros: life insurance continues to break records while the Livret A savings account is seeing outflows. The turning point in the allocation of French households’ savings is now clear.
The figure is certainly noteworthy: 6.7 billion euros in net inflows for life insurance alone in June 2026, which is 1.3 billion more than in June 2025. This is an all-time record for the month of June since France Assureurs began compiling statistics in 1997; the previous record was set in June 2007 (5.417 billion). To gauge how far this figure deviates from the norm, it is worth noting that the average net inflow for the month of June over the past ten years has been 1.5 billion euros.
The driving force behind this performance has been identified: unit-linked funds, which contributed 5.4 billion euros over the month, compared with 1.3 billion for euro-denominated funds. The latter, however, are no longer the weak link: their net inflows have once again turned clearly positive—something that was by no means a given just two years ago.
The rarity of this event is worth noting. Since 1997, life insurance has experienced only three instances of net outflows in the month of June: in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 crisis (–414 million euros), in 2013 (–217 million), and in 2012 (–1.341 billion). Across all months, the all-time record for inflows remains January 2006, at 9.336 billion euros, and the worst outflow was in December 2011, at –3.839 billion. The June 2026 figure therefore ranks near the top of the historical table.
A Second-Best First Half on Record
For the first half of the year as a whole, net inflows totaled 36.5 billion euros, 8.9 billion more than in the same period of 2025. This half-year ranks as the second-best first half-year on record, behind only 2006, which recorded 40.2 billion. Once again, unit-linked funds dominated with 27.5 billion, compared with 8.9 billion for euro-denominated funds.
Contributions are following the same trend. At 19.3 billion euros in June, they broke the previous record for that month (17.2 billion in 2025); across all months, the peak remains February 2026, at 19.556 billion. For the first half of the year, contributions totaled 108.8 billion euros, well above the 97.661 billion recorded in the first half of 2025, the 92.733 billion in 2024, and the 81.133 billion in 2023. The increase was seen in both categories: +12% for unit-linked funds and +9% for euro-denominated funds. The share of unit-linked funds in contributions stood at 43% in June and 39% for the half-year as a whole.
On the outflow side, pressure remains under control. Premiums in June totaled 12.6 billion euros, up 7% year-over-year, a rise driven by unit-linked policies (+17%), while redemptions from euro-denominated funds fell by 4%. For the first half of the year, payouts totaled 72.3 billion, up just 2%. As a result, the outstanding balance of life insurance policies stood at 2,162 billion euros at the end of June, up 6% year-over-year, or 122 billion more.
The Wide Gap with the Livret A
The contrast with regulated savings is the key takeaway from this half-year. While life insurance saw net inflows of more than 36 billion euros, the Livret A recorded net outflows of nearly 6 billion over the same period. Since last year, households have begun to reallocate a portion of the cash held in regulated products toward an investment vehicle that offers both a return on euro-denominated funds—which has once again become competitive—and exposure to financial markets that are performing well.
The increase in the Livret A interest rate—from 1.5% to 1.7% as of August 1, 2026—is unlikely to “make much of a difference,” according to Philippe Crevel, director of the Cercle de l’Épargne. The yield gap remains too favorable for life insurance, and tax and estate planning considerations are a major factor. “As the preferred investment of the middle and upper classes, it is experiencing a genuine resurgence in popularity,” notes the economist, who highlights the policy’s versatility: protecting oneself for the future, planning for retirement, addressing the risk of long-term care, and organizing the transfer of one’s estate. Four objectives in a single vehicle—this is precisely what no other regulated savings account offers.
Nevertheless, there are two areas of concern for investors. The first relates to the composition of inflows: with 27.5 billion euros out of 36.5 billion coming from unit-linked funds, the performance of these policies now depends largely on the performance of the stock and bond markets. A stock market downturn would automatically lead to a decline in assets under management and, likely, a slowdown in new contributions. The second concerns the returns on euro-denominated funds, whose recovery was made possible by rising bond yields: this benefits new contributions far more than existing holdings, which are still heavily weighted toward low-coupon bonds.
