What is the procedure? What are the reasons that insured, but also insurers, can invoke to denounce a contract? Answers.
Home insurancemutual health insurance, car insurance, life insurance … All these insurance contracts can be terminated when they arrive at their annual maturity. For this, a termination request must be made at the latest two months before the anniversary of the contract. A careful reading of the insurance contract clauses may reveal a shorter period. In all cases, this request must be sent by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. If it is notified orally, care must be taken to receive a dated receipt confirming the desire for termination.
But a contract can also be terminated in certain special cases, whether by the insured but also by the insurer.
Termination by the insured on an exceptional basis
There are exceptions that make it possible to terminate insurance outside of legal deadlines. First, it is sometimes possible to put insurance companies before their duty of information and their necessary control of the evolution of the amounts of bonuses. Thus, each year, they must recall the conditions to terminate a contract by mail less than 15 days before, or after, the date of the annual deadline. If these conditions do not appear, you have a period of 20 days after receipt of the document, the mail stamp being proof, to obtain the termination of your contract, without penalty. The latter is effective the day after the date of sending your mail with acknowledgment of receipt. Likewise, if the evolution of the amount of premiums is unjustified, and you can demonstrate it, you can end the contract. However, this possibility meets some limits. The first is that the insurance contract clauses must allow this type of reason for termination. The second concerns automobile insurance: the application of the penalty cannot be a valid reason for termination.
Then, changes in your life allow you to interrupt your contract. For example, if you move, you can give up your home insurance, or even, in case of marriage or divorce, you can question all of your insurance contracts. In summary, As soon as a change in the life of the insured modifies the coverage perimeter of the insurance contract, the insurer cannot oppose a termination. For this, the latter must receive parts within three months justifying the change. If these conditions are not met, the request can be deemed not admissible. And the contract will not be terminated within the month following the sending of the registered letter as provided for in the law. If the request is accepted, the insured will be reimbursed on the part of the contribution corresponding to the period when insurance has no longer covered it.
Finally, when selling or transmitting a property, the insurance contract is transferred to the new owner. Everything allows the new contract holder to terminate him. Regarding vehicles, it is up to the seller to request the termination of the contract.
Termination at the request of the insurer
It is not only the insured who can terminate his insurance contract. The insurer can also initiate such a procedure without having to justify his decision. He must always respect a notice of 2 months. However for health mutuals, only contracts less than two years are affected. Beyond that, the insurer cannot interrupt the guarantees.
A series of events generally leads the insurer to end a contract before due date. First, he can suspend the contract following a disaster, but only, and only if, a clause explicitly indicates it on the contract. In order for the request for breach of contract to be valid, the insurer must ensure that they no longer receive contributions beyond a month after the knowledge of the loss. For example, the insurer can break an insurance contract when there is a car accident due to driving driving, an offense which results in the suspension or cancellation of the driving license.
Then, before denouncing the contract, the insurer may consider that with regard to the disaster which has just been declared, there is an aggravation of the risk, which requires an increase in the insurance premium. If, within 30 days, the insured does not react or clearly indicates his refusal to pay more for his insurance, the contract may be closed.
And then, the insurance contract can cease in the face of fraudulent behavior of the insured. In particular, when there is a false declaration or the omission of the existence of a new risk. Here, not only will insurance be canceled, but may be asked to reimburse previous compensation. If the insured manages to demonstrate his good faith, compensation will be reduced. Likewise, the insurer can be more tolerant, and limit his reaction to an increase in the insurance premium, if no claim has yet taken place.
Finally, the lack of payment of contributions possibly leads to the end of the contract within 30 days of the formal notice, if the latter remains without effect. After this period, the termination of the contract does not prevent the insurer from recovering the amount due, even if it corresponds to the loss coverage for the twelve months coming. It is therefore better to take care to regularize the situation as soon as possible, to avoid paying two insurance policies.