The Covid-19 pandemic provides fertile ground for the circulation of false information. Life insurance is one of the targets of this fake news, which is causing concern among savers. We take a look at 3 main rumors.
False information no. 1: the government will tax savings more heavily
The Minister of the Economy has repeatedly denied this information. On Monday March 22, 2021, during a debate at the French National Assembly on public debt, Bruno Le Maire declared: "Should we expect, as we have for decades, an increase in taxes? Because taxes have been the Pavlovian response to debt repayment, and it is precisely this response that this majority is determined to avoid".
"I can proclaim morning, noon and night that we will not raise taxes, but the French are still very skeptical," he stressed, before hammering home: "I repeat that as long as I hold this position as Finance Minister, we will not raise taxes on the French.
Bruno Le Maire recently raised the possibility of using part of the corporate income tax to pay down public debt. Once again, the idea is not to increase this tax, but rather to take advantage of the increased revenues generated by the hoped-for upturn in growth.
False information no. 2: the State could seize life insurance savings
This is not a recent rumor, originating with the 2017 adoption of the law on transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernization of economic life, known as the Sapin II law.
In the event of a "serious and characterized threat" to the financial system, the law provides for a temporary 6-month freeze on life insurance sums. The aim is to avoid massive withdrawals, which would lead to a liquidity crisis.
No such project is envisaged, and low bond yields do not encourage the French government to repay its debt as a matter of urgency.
Misinformation No. 3: Covid-19 vaccine, a cause for exclusion
A Canadian woman's Facebook post was apparently the source of the false information that, in the event of death from the Covid-19 vaccine, the capital would not be passed on to the beneficiaries.
The Fédération Française de l'Assurance (FFA) formally denied this information in a press release published on March 19, 2021. It points out that "life insurance contracts do not provide for exclusions relating to the consequences of vaccination", and "regrets attempts at misinformation on a public health subject as essential as vaccination".