The sum paid to named beneficiaries on the insured's death, outside the estate and under a tax regime keyed to the age at which premiums were paid.
The death benefit is the oldest of all personal insurance payments: a sum fixed in advance, paid to named beneficiaries when the insured dies. Its legal peculiarity is that it does not pass through the estate: the beneficiary acquires a direct right against the insurer on acceptance, which puts the money beyond the reach of forced heirs and, in principle, of the deceased's creditors. That separation from the estate made a specific tax regime necessary, built not on family relationship but on the age at which premiums were paid, so that life insurance cannot be used to pass on tax free a fortune assembled late in life. Two regimes therefore coexist depending on whether premiums were paid before or after age seventy, with different allowances and rates. The problem solved is immediate protection of dependents, without waiting for the settlement of an estate that takes months and can be contested.
Article 990 I of the French tax code charges benefits arising from premiums paid before age seventy at 20% above an allowance of 152,500 euros per beneficiary, rising to 31.25% above 700,000 euros since 2011. Article 757 B instead subjects to inheritance tax the premiums paid after age seventy above 30,500 euros, across all contracts combined.
capital garanti en cas de décès, garantie décès