The firm

An independent firm, founded in 2005 by lawyers from large international firms. We practise insurance law, life and non-life, and business law in Paris and Luxembourg.

Our history

2005
Xavier Périnne founded an association of lawyers in Paris, under the name Périnne, Ribierre & Redding.
2006
The firm moved into its current offices, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.
2008
The association took the name Affina Legal, a symbol of its roots in insurance and finance, and became an AARPI (a French association of lawyers with individual professional liability).
2011
Vincent Bourgoin joined the firm. He had previously worked at the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel, now the (the French prudential supervision and resolution authority), at a private bank and at a life insurer.
ACPRAutorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution: the French authority, attached to the Banque de France, that authorises and supervises banks and insurers and oversees the protection of their customers.
2013
Opening of the Luxembourg office, with Maître Jean-François Steichen, Avocat à la Cour, as partner.
2015
Vincent Bourgoin became a partner.
2026
Thierry Kouandjeu returned to the firm as a partner, after heading legal affairs at an insurer and then serving as deputy chief executive of an insurance group.

Our approach

Teaching requires a technical subject to be explained clearly. We apply the same rule to our advice.

01
Start from the decision to be made

We begin by identifying the decision you have to make and what our answer will change. The format follows its intended use: a note for a management committee, a detailed opinion for a legal department, a clause ready to insert.
02
Conclusions first

Every opinion opens with its conclusions, legal and operational. The reasoning and the sources follow, for those who need to check them.
03
Options, with their risks

We set out the possible options and the legal or tax risk of each. In litigation, we assess the prospects of success with you before acting, and we look for an amicable settlement at every stage.

Fees

Each engagement is covered by a written fee agreement, as French law requires of lawyers. It sets out the amount of the fees or how they are calculated, together with the expected expenses.

Time spent: An hourly rate agreed in advance.
Fixed fee: A set price for a defined engagement.
Retainer: A periodic amount for regular advice, within an agreed scope.

The choice depends on the engagement. We discuss it with you before we start.

Working with other advisers

French and foreign law firms entrust us with the insurance aspects of their matters, in France and in Luxembourg. When your matter involves another country, we work with lawyers from that country. We handle questions that are both legal and actuarial with actuarial firms, which are also among our clients.

Reference matters

A selection of matters handled by our partners, described so that our clients cannot be identified. On request, we can outline their main features, in keeping with professional secrecy.

In Paris

Design of contracts under a
Life insuranceA contract under which an insurer undertakes to pay a lump sum or an annuity, at the end of the agreed term or on the death of the insured person, in return for premiums. In France, it is also widely used as a savings and wealth transfer vehicle.
Discretionary management mandateA way of managing a unit-linked contract in which the policyholder delegates switching decisions to a mandated manager, within an agreed investment strategy.
Design of life insurance contracts under
Advisory managementA way of managing a contract in which the policyholder receives switching recommendations but makes the decisions.
Several changes to the guaranteed rates of euro-fund contracts
Life insurance litigation ( (renonciation), serial disputes)
Right of cancellation (renonciation)The right of the holder of a life insurance or capitalisation contract to withdraw from it within thirty days of being informed that it has been concluded. If the information documents required by law were not provided, this period is extended, for a holder acting in good faith, up to a limit of eight years.
Financial fraud matters involving distribution networks (audit, advice, crisis management, settlements, litigation)
Transformation of portfolios of euro-denominated contracts into multi-fund contracts (“fourgousage”)
Closure of French branches of foreign insurers
Several mergers and acquisitions involving portfolio transfers
Restructuring of life insurers after acquisition, and operations, including for group contracts
Portfolio transferA transaction by which an insurer transfers all or part of its contracts to another insurer, with the approval of the supervisory authority.
Restructuring of mutual insurance groups to meet the requirements of the Code de la mutualité (the French Mutual Insurance Code), covering direct insurance portfolios and life reinsurance treaties
Legal and tax audit of life insurance and capitalisation contracts intended for private wealth clients
Drafting of white-label contracts (⁠, unit-linked, capitalisation, multi-fund) for insurers and credit institutions, with the contractual documentation, partnership agreements and operating procedures
Euro fund (capital-guaranteed general fund)A life insurance investment option whose capital is guaranteed by the insurer, which credits it each year with a share of its profits (participation aux bénéfices).
Audit and set-up of distribution networks, including online

In Luxembourg

Euro funds reinsured in France and offered within Luxembourg life insurance contracts
Financial information on dedicated internal funds (⁠), in light of the requirements of the French Financial Security Act (loi de sécurité financière)
Dedicated internal fund (FID)An internal fund of a Luxembourg insurer that underlies a single contract and has a single manager. As a rule, it requires a minimum premium of €125,000 and a policyholder in category A or above.
Use by Luxembourg life insurers of a tax representation mandate governed by French law
Use of the life certificate to reconcile the French and Luxembourg rules on
Unclaimed (dormant) contractsThe situation of life insurance contracts that remain unclaimed. The Eckert Act of 2014, in force since 2016, strengthens the search for insured persons and beneficiaries and provides for the sums to be transferred, after a set period, to the Caisse des dépôts. In French: déshérence.
Adaptation to French law of life insurance and capitalisation contracts marketed in France by Luxembourg insurers under the (FOS)
Freedom to provide services (FOS)The regime under which an insurer authorised in one State of the European Economic Area can cover commitments located in another Member State without being established there, on the basis of its home-State authorisation (the European passport). In French: libre prestation de services (LPS).
Specialised insurance funds (⁠) offered in Luxembourg
Specialised insurance fund (FAS)An internal fund that underlies a single Luxembourg contract and in which each asset is chosen by the policyholder, within the investment limits of the policyholder’s category.

The Luxembourg office

From Luxembourg, we mainly advise Luxembourg life insurers that offer their contracts in France, either under the freedom to provide services (FOS) or through a branch, under the (FOE). We also act on the distribution of these contracts and on life reinsurance.

Freedom of establishment (FOE)The regime under which an insurer from one State of the European Economic Area can operate in another Member State through a branch. In French: liberté d’établissement (LE).

Maître Jean-François Steichen, Avocat à la Cour, is the firm’s partner in Luxembourg. His practice shares our offices, and we work with him on matters of Luxembourg law.

Xavier Périnne practises there under his home-country title, “Avocat (France)”.

Entity: Affina Legal S.à r.l.
Bar registration: List VI of the roll of the Luxembourg Bar (Ordre des avocats du barreau de Luxembourg), for legal entities practising law, since 20 February 2013
Manager (gérant): Xavier Périnne
Address: 30, rue Marie-Adélaïde, L-2128 Luxembourg