Selling a car: how can I cancel my car insurance?
Car insurance is an agreement between you and an insurer. With car insurance, both parties sign a contract with rights and obligations that both the insurer and yourself must abide by. Canceling the car insurance is of course possible, but this cannot be done at any time. We would like to give you some explanation about this situation. Canceling the car insurance can be done at three times, namely:
1
Per contract expiration date
Many insurance companies used to have a two-month notice period, but this has not been allowed since Jan. 1, 2010. In general, after the first 12 months, insurance policies can be cancelled daily with a notice period of one month. There are even insurers that do not apply any notice period at all and where the insurance can be terminated immediately. You can find the exact term in the policy conditions.
2
In the event of changes in terms and conditions or premium increases
If the insurer has increased the premiums or changed the terms and conditions negatively, you have 30 days to cancel the policy. Your policy can be terminated free of charge as of the contract expiration date or with one month's notice.
Please note that this does not apply if the premium increase is due to a claim or change that specifically affects you. It must be an increase or change that applies to everyone who has the same insurance with this insurer.
3
When selling your car
Finally, you can cancel your policy (interim) when you have sold your car. Inform your insurer or intermediary of the date of indemnification and the insurance will end on the date indicated on the indemnification certificate. Send a copy of the indemnification certificate as proof within 30 days. If you do so later, the insurer may charge one additional month of premium.
If you bought a new car, you can also make a change on your current policy instead of canceling the insurance altogether. That way, you keep your policy and don't have to buy a whole new insurance policy again.
Always read the policy terms and conditions carefully
What conditions for discontinuation an insurer uses varies from insurer to insurer. This can even differ for each insurance policy. Therefore, before taking out (car) insurance, it is very important to read the policy conditions. In the policy conditions you will find all conditions that apply to your insurance. This means that also the conditions for termination are described here. Have you not read the policy terms and conditions beforehand? Then you can of course consult the document when looking for the conditions for termination. Contacting your insurer is of course also a good option.
Car insurance suspension
As long as the car is in your name, it should be insured. In addition to canceling the car insurance, you can also choose to suspend the car insurance. In this case, the insurance is temporarily discontinued. As soon as you have a car in your name again, you can reactivate the insurance. This can be done immediately: there is no notice period.
Suspending car insurance rather than terminating it is especially a good option if you have accumulated negative claim-free years in your current insurance policy. Negative claim-free years are built up by claiming at-fault losses. You may run into the problem of not being able to buy new insurance when terminating an insurance policy. This may be due to a bad claims history or because you have a criminal record.
Related pages about canceling your car insurance policy
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