Insurance in France · in plain English
Whatever life in France brings, it shouldn’t be lost in translation. Our bilingual team makes Health insurance for expats in France clear and simple – backed by Generali.
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Expat health cover is the one thing you need sorted before anything else in France – before your bank account, before your driving licence, before your préfecture appointment. The French public system does not cover you until you are registered, and registration takes months. In the meantime, a single emergency can cost thousands. This page is for people who just arrived, are about to arrive, or realised too late that their travel policy does not count. We get you covered in 24 hours – in English, with a certificate your consulate will actually accept.
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As an official Generali agency, we pair local, English-speaking service with the solidity of one of the world’s leading insurers.
You land in France. You register at your local "mairie". You open a bank account. You feel organised. Then you get ill.
The French public system – Assurance Maladie – is excellent once you are inside it. The problem is getting inside it. Registering through PUMA, the universal coverage scheme, requires three months of continuous legal residence before you can even apply. Processing then takes a further three to six months. According to Feather Insurance, the average wait from arrival to Carte Vitale is between three and nine months.
In 2026, that wait got longer and more expensive. A French National Assembly amendment approved in late 2025 now requires non-EU nationals on long-stay visitor visas to pay a minimum annual healthcare contribution of €300 to €600 before PUMA affiliation is confirmed and a social security number is issued. Until that contribution is paid and processed, the French public system is entirely closed to you – regardless of how long you have been resident.
During that entire period, every consultation, every prescription, every ambulance call is billed to you in full. There is no safety net. Expat health cover is not a comfort option – it is the only protection available.
And it is not just the registration period. Even expats who are fully registered often find that Assurance Maladie covers far less than expected – especially for Sector 2 specialists, dental treatment and private clinic stays. Expat health cover fills both gaps: the registration gap and the reimbursement shortfall beyond it.
These are not worst-case figures. They are the standard costs an unregistered expat faces for routine and emergency care in France.
A GP visit with a Sector 2 fee of €60 costs €60 in full without cover, and is reimbursed up to the policy limit with expat cover. A specialist consultation (€90–€120) is billed in full without cover, and is covered with minimal out of pocket with a policy. One night in a private clinic runs €500–€800+ uninsured, while hospitalisation is covered under expat plans. Emergency dental treatment can reach €300–€1,500+ without cover, whereas dental emergencies are included in expat policies. Medical repatriation to your home country can cost €10,000–€50,000+ uninsured – and is included as standard with expat cover.
The annual cost of a solid expat health policy is typically less than a single uninsured hospitalisation. Once you see these numbers, the decision is straightforward.
If you are applying for a French long-stay visa (VLS-TS) or renewing your titre de séjour, your insurance certificate is one of the first documents checked. French consulates and préfectures do not just verify that a policy exists – they read the wording.
According to France-Visas.gouv.fr, a compliant certificate must include a minimum coverage of €30,000 per person including hospitalisation and repatriation, explicit confirmation of long-term residence cover (travel insurance is rejected outright), your French address on the certificate (a foreign address signals tourist cover), exact dates matching your visa application period, and coverage of outpatient consultations, not just emergencies.
This is a critical distinction: this is not travel insurance. Travel insurance is designed for short stays and emergencies – it does not meet French residency requirements and consulates reject it on sight. Our policies are specifically structured for long-term residents and are accepted by French consulates and préfectures without question. We issue a fully compliant certificate on the day your cover is activated – same day, no delays.
Expat health cover is a bridge, not a destination. Most clients use it for six to twelve months, then transition to a mutuelle once they are PUMA-registered and hold a French social security number.
That transition matters – and most expats miss the right moment. A mutuelle is cheaper than expat cover because it works alongside Assurance Maladie rather than independently of it. But it cannot be activated without a social security number. Switch too early and you are unprotected. Switch too late and you overpay.
We track your PUMA registration status and alert you when the moment is right. Our team manages the full transition in English – cancelling your expat policy, activating your mutuelle and coordinating any CPAM paperwork – with zero gap in cover between the two. You do not need to think about it. We do.
For a broader view of how the French health system works from arrival to full affiliation, our health insurance in France page covers every stage in detail.
We are a Generali agency based in Cognac. For over 20 years, we have been the English-speaking community's trusted insurance partner in France. Not a comparison site. Not a call centre. A real bilingual team that picks up the phone, reads your situation and builds the right policy for where you actually are.
From the moment you contact us, you receive a free consultation by phone or email with no commitment and no time pressure, a personalised quote within 24 hours built around your visa type, arrival date, nationality and health profile, and a consulate-compliant certificate issued the same day your cover is activated – formatted for VLS-TS applications, préfecture renewals and employer requirements.
We also explain Sector 2 and OPTAM in plain English so you know before your first appointment what your policy covers and what it does not. Our team handles bilingual CPAM management – every letter, form, reimbursement claim and Ameli declaration written and submitted in French on your behalf, with a full English summary sent to you. We manage your transition to a mutuelle – monitoring your PUMA registration, telling you the exact right moment to switch and handling the full transition with no gap in cover. All of this is backed by Generali, one of the world's largest insurers, present in over 50 countries, with the financial strength to pay claims when they matter.
We cover individuals, couples and families. A 28-year-old arriving healthy needs a different policy from a 58-year-old retiree managing ongoing prescriptions. We find the right fit – not the most expensive option, not the cheapest one that leaves gaps.
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5/5 on Google
“Jennifer and all the staff were wonderful. They helped us navigate the French system with English documents – patient, efficient and very informative. I would wholeheartedly recommend them.”
“Friendly fast service. I was so happy to have received help with my insurances by someone who spoke English, as my French is not good. Really good to receive this service. Thank you 🙂”
“A really good experience. The folks in the Cognac office all speak excellent English and are really helpful. They explained the jargon clearly.”
“Excellent start to finish. Chantal at the Cognac office is an absolute and pleasurable asset – makes life so easy and speaks perfect English. Couldn’t be more helpful or professional.”
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SAS AGENCE GENERALI COGNAC, whose registered office is located at 2 rue Pillet Will, 75009 Paris, is registered with the Paris Trade and Companies Register under number 844 879 106, and with ORIAS under number 210005547.
