Definition
A scooter sliding on black ice, a wrist in plaster, six weeks unable to sit at a keyboard.
The rent, the car insurance and the software subscription still land on the 5th of every month, as if nothing had happened.
That is usually the day a self-employed person looks properly at what their compulsory cover provides, and above all at what it does not.
Prévoyance (personal protection insurance) is a policy taken out with an insurer, a mutual or a provident institution, which pays money when the ability to work stops: a benefit during sick leave, a pension in case of invalidity, a lump sum or a pension for your family in case of death.
It does not replace social security, it sits on top of it: the compulsory scheme lays a floor, the policy fills the distance between that floor and your real fixed costs.
What the compulsory scheme already funds
Before signing anything, you need to know what is already paid for.
A micro-entrepreneur's Social contributions charge is not a single levy: it is split across six lines, and two of them deal precisely with these risks.
Here is their weight inside the charge as of 1 January 2026, as published by URSSAF, the body that collects social contributions.
The breakdown was revised on that very date: the share taken by CSG-CRDS falls back in favour of the lines that build up rights, these two among them.
| Line of the charge | Sales and BIC services | BNC, general scheme | Cipav professions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invalidity and death | 3.15% | 3.30% | 1.40% |
| Daily sickness benefit | 1.25% | 1.50% | 0.80% |
These percentages are shares of the charge you pay, never shares of your turnover. Here is the calculation.
A non-regulated freelance consultant collects 40,000 euros in 2026: her contributions come to 40,000 by 25.6%, so 10,240 euros over the year.
The invalidity and death line accounts for 3.30% of that, which works out at 338 euros, and the Daily sickness benefit line 1.50%, so 154 euros.
In other words, less than 500 euros a year cover sick leave, invalidity and death together.
A professional attached to CIPAV, the fund for regulated liberal professions, whose overall rate is 23.2% in 2026, pays 9,280 euros of contributions on the same turnover, so around 130 euros for invalidity and death and around 74 euros for daily sickness benefit.
In both cases, that overall rate does not cover everything that goes out: the vocational training contribution (CFP) comes on top, income tax too, and the chamber levy for those trading as a shopkeeper or a craftsperson.
A sum that small buys a floor, not a replacement income. No line of the charge funds unemployment insurance or workplace accident cover either.
That is exactly the space a protection policy is designed to occupy.
The "loi Madelin" deduction trap
Comparison sites push the tax deduction of so-called Madelin policies. It requires being taxed under the régime réel (the actual-profit regime).
Under the micro scheme, your taxable profit is calculated by applying the Standard allowance for your category, in 2026 71% for the sale of goods, 50% for BIC services and 34% for BNC, and that tax allowance is deemed to cover all your expenses.
Nothing else can be deducted: not the protection policy, not the health top-up, not the computer. A policy is therefore paid out of your net income, and its price should be compared with what it guarantees, not with a tax saving that does not exist here.
The one neighbour worth a closer look is the Retirement savings plan (PER), which falls under a personal retirement savings allowance and follows its own rules.
Protection, health top-up and liability: three policies, three risks
These three budget lines are all the easier to confuse because one broker often sells them together, sometimes in a single quote.
Top-up health insurance reimburses care, protection insurance replaces an income. The first pays out on a consultation, a pair of glasses or a hospital stay; the second only triggers on the day you can no longer work.
Professional liability insurance, meanwhile, does not protect you at all: it repairs the damage your work causes to a client or a third party, which is an entirely different subject.
One last point that is often misread: no law requires a micro-entrepreneur to hold a protection policy, unlike certain regulated professions which follow rules set by their professional body.
So the question is not whether the contract is compulsory, but how many months your fixed costs can run without a single invoice going out.
Frequently asked questions
Is personal protection insurance compulsory for a micro-entrepreneur?
No, it remains optional for the vast majority of activities: it is a private contract, freely taken out and cancelled under its own terms.
Only some regulated professions face obligations set by their professional body or their fund, which is worth checking with them before comparing offers.
Can I deduct my protection contributions from my turnover?
No, not under the micro scheme.
The administration applies a standard allowance meant to represent all your expenses, 34% for BNC and 50% for BIC services in 2026, and no actual expense is added to it.
Deducting Madelin policies requires taxation under the régime réel, which is a different regime from yours.
On a tight budget, which comes first, the health top-up or the protection policy?
They do not cover the same risk, so the answer depends on your situation.
A poorly reimbursed consultation costs a few tens of euros; six months without invoicing costs six months of fixed charges.
Look first at the amount you have to pay out every month whatever happens, then compare.
How do I work out the level of cover to aim for?
Add up everything that falls due every month even with no activity: rent, loans, insurance, subscriptions, contributions.
Compare that total with the compulsory floor, whose cost you now know, around 338 euros a year for invalidity and death on 40,000 euros collected under BNC in 2026.
The conditions and amounts actually paid by the compulsory scheme can be checked on the Assurance Maladie website. Shares of the charge and rates up to date as of 5 September 2026.