A Guide to Finding Your French Health Insurance Provider
Social Security Pays 70%. Who Pays the Rest? The Mutuelle Guide for Expats in France
In France, Social Security never covers the full bill. Choosing a mutuelle is hard because the contracts use their own vocabulary, percentages that don't mean what they seem to, and clauses that catch new arrivals in particular. This guide explains it in plain English and then shows you how to read real contracts. It uses figures copied from the insurers' own documents.
What's Covered:
- Whether you need a French mutuelle, explained with a table by situation: employee, self-employed, student, visitor visa, S1 retiree, family
- What Social Security leaves you to pay, with worked examples in euros: consultations, sector 1, 2 and 3 doctors, OPTAM, hospital costs, and the sums no mutuelle is allowed to reimburse
- The two clauses that cost expats the most: the waiting period (délai de carence) and the deductible (franchise)
- Your employer's mutuelle: the 50% rule, when you can opt out, and what happens if you lose your job or retire
- How to read a table of cover
- What it costs, and the state-funded option (CSS) with the 2026 income thresholds
- How to cancel and switch, and what the law actually says
- A real comparison of popular French providers
- A toolkit: where to look depending on your situation, the 12 questions to ask before signing (with the French to copy into your email), and two template letters in French with English translations
- What changes in 2026 and 2027
- A French–English glossary of the 22 words you'll see on every contract
Who It's For:
- Expats who have, or are about to get, a French Social Security number and need to pick a mutuelle
- New arrivals not yet affiliated who need to know what to take out in the meantime
- Employees wondering whether the company mutuelle is enough, or whether they can refuse it
- Freelancers and micro-entrepreneurs comparing individual plans
- Anyone already paying for a mutuelle who isn't sure what it covers
Delivery: Instant digital download (PDF, 38 pages).
Good to know: Every figure was checked against official sources on 18 September 2026, and the sources are listed so you can verify them yourself. This guide is general information, not insurance advice. Keys to France doesn't sell or recommend insurance and receives no commission from any insurer.
New to the French health system altogether? Pair it with A Guide to French Healthcare for Expats, which covers getting your Carte Vitale, finding a doctor, Doctolib and reimbursements.
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If you legally live in France and meet the residency or work requirements, you may be eligible for French Social Security and a Carte Vitale. Eligibility depends on your visa status (work, family, student, self-employed, etc.) and proof of stable residence in France. We guide you through the application, help prepare the correct documents, and follow up until your rights are opened. Book now!
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