Cancelling your insurance

Three parties, three regimes

Before talking deadlines, you need to know who wants to cancel. The law does not treat a private individual, a business and an insurer in the same way.

• PRI The private client

  A natural person insuring a private risk: personal car, home, family liability…

  • At renewal: 2 months' notice
  • After 1 year: cancellation at any time
  • 14-day withdrawal, depending on how the policy was concluded
• PRO The business client

  A self-employed person or company insuring a risk linked to their activity.

  • At renewal: 2 months' notice
  • No cancellation at any time after a year
  • Exits available through the special cases
• CIE The insurer

  The insurance company carrying the risk.

  • At renewal: 3 months' notice, no reason required
  • Outside renewal: only the cases provided for by law
  • Never a cancellation at any time after a year

Cancelling at the annual renewal date

An insurance policy renews automatically every year. To stop it, you have to give notice before the renewal date, and each party has its own deadline.

Cancelling outside the renewal date

Certain events let you leave without waiting for renewal. Be careful: outside renewal does not mean immediate, and each case has its own deadlines.

• After a claim

  Notify within 1 month, takes effect after 3

  Both you and the insurer can cancel after a claim, if the policy provides for it, which it almost always does. Notice must be given no later than one month after the settlement is paid or refused, and it takes effect three months later (one month in case of fraud). So it is not an immediate cancellation.

• Premium increase or change of terms

  Takes effect on the date of the change

  If the insurer changes your rate or your terms on its own initiative, you can refuse and cancel, whether you are a private individual or a business. The cancellation takes effect on the date the change was due to apply. One exception: indexation and changes already provided for in the policy do not open this right.

• The risk disappears or changes

  No subject matter left, or renegotiation

  Disappearance (property sold, vehicle written off and not replaced, business closed): the policy ends for want of subject matter. Increase in risk: the insurer may propose a new premium or cancel, and you may refuse. Decrease in risk: you can demand a lower premium, and cancel if no agreement is reached.

• Switching insurer: continuity guaranteed

  Since 2024

  Your new insurer, or your broker, can carry out the cancellation formalities on your behalf and make sure there is neither a gap in cover nor a double premium. That is exactly the role we play for you.

The cases that do not follow the general rule

• The withdrawal period: 14 days

  Just taken out a policy and changed your mind? The fourteen-day period exists, but it is not a general right: it depends on how the policy was concluded. It is open to you if the policy was formed by signing a pre-signed policy or an insurance application (art. 57 §3), and if you are a consumer who bought at a distance. A policy concluded on a quotation issued after a study, which is common for negotiated business risks, does not open this right. The period runs from the date cover starts, not from signature.

• Accidents at work: the exception

  This insurance is governed by the Act of 10 April 1971, not by the general regime. As a result: only cancellation at the renewal date is possible, with three months' notice, and the notice must be sent by registered post. Neither the shorter two-month notice nor cancellation at any time after a year applies.

How should you send your cancellation?

The law sets out specific forms: registered letter, service by bailiff, delivery against receipt, or, since 2024, theinsurer's digital environment with a qualified electronic signature (itsme, eID).

In practice many insurers accept a simple email for ordinary classes of business, but only registered post gives incontestable proof of the date of sending. For accidents-at-work insurance and after a claim, registered post is required. If in doubt, we handle it for you and keep the record.

Write the letter with the generator →

Four pitfalls that cost a year's premium

• Cancelling before signing the next policy

  One day driving or living without cover is enough for everything to fall on you. The new policy must start exactly when the old one ends.

• Counting the notice period from the signature date

  The renewal date often has nothing to do with the day you signed. Only one source counts: your policy schedule.

• Assuming a phone call is enough

  A cancellation must be in writing, in one of the forms laid down by law. A verbal agreement leaves no trace the day the insurer claims next year's premium.

• Forgetting retroactive cover in professional indemnity

  For a self-employed person, leaving a professional indemnity policy without a retroactive cover clause at the new insurer can leave years of work uncovered. Check before, never after.

Legal references

Everything above is based on Belgian law. You can check each rule at source.

1. Forms of cancellation art. 84, Act of 4 April 2014 : registered post, bailiff, receipt, digital environment.
2. Cancellation at renewal and automatic renewal art. 85 §1, Act of 4 April 2014 : policyholder 2 months, insurer 3 months.
3. Cancellation at any time after a year art. 85/1, inserted by the Act of 9 October 2023 : consumers, policy more than a year old, effective after 2 months.
4. The reform of 1 October 2024 Act of 9 October 2023 : the full amending text simplifying the cancellation rules.
5. Cancellation after a claim art. 86, Act of 4 April 2014 : effective after at least three months, notice within one month.
6. Accidents at work (assurance loi) art. 49, Act of 10 April 1971 : renewal date only, three months, registered post.

Your questions about cancelling

What notice period applies at the renewal date?

Since 1 October 2024 the client, whether a private individual or a business, gives at least two months' notice before the annual renewal date. The insurer must give three months. Before the reform, the notice period was three months for everyone.

Can I really leave at any time after a year?

Yes, if you are a private individual (a natural person acting privately) and the non-life policy is more than a year old. You leave whenever you want, the cancellation takes effect two months after your notice, and any premium overpaid is refunded. This right does not exist for business policies.

Can you cancel immediately after a claim?

No. After a claim either party can cancel, but not with immediate effect: the cancellation takes effect after at least three months (one month in case of fraud). Notice must be given no later than one month after the settlement is paid or refused, by registered post.

Can the insurer cancel my policy at renewal without a reason?

Yes. At renewal the insurer can block the renewal without giving a reason, subject to three months' notice. Outside renewal it can only cancel in the cases provided for by law: after a claim, an increase in risk, non-payment, misrepresentation…

Is an email enough to cancel?

The law provides for registered post, a bailiff, delivery against receipt or the insurer's digital environment with a qualified signature. Many insurers tolerate email for ordinary classes of business, but only registered post constitutes proof. For accidents at work and after a claim, registered post is required.

Is there a withdrawal period?

Fourteen days, but not for everyone. The right depends on how the policy was concluded: a pre-signed policy or an insurance application (art. 57 §3), or a distance purchase by a consumer. A policy negotiated on a quotation does not give this right. The period runs from the date cover starts, and policies of less than a month are excluded.

This page is for information and does not constitute personalised advice within the meaning of the Act of 4 April 2014. The deadlines and rules cited reflect Belgian law as amended by the reform of 1^st October 2024 (Act of 9 October 2023) and the Act of 10 April 1971 for accidents at work. They may vary according to your own policy and changes in the law.