New cancellation rules for insurance contracts from 1 October 2024
The Law of 9 October 2023 simplifying the cancellation rules for insurance contracts will enter into force on 1 October 2024. The cancellation arrangements set out in Articles 84 and 85 of the Insurance Law will be amended, with the new arrangements applying to any contracts concluded or tacitly extended from that date.
Cancellation notice periods
The applicable notice period depends on which party is cancelling:
- For the insurer, there will be no change to the notice period, which will still be three months before the contract expiry date.
- For the policyholder, the period of notice required to cancel an insurance contract will be reduced to two months before the expiry date.
What will change for consumers?
A new Article 85/1 will also enter into force from 1 October 2024, applying to tacitly renewable insurance contracts in the ‘non-life’ category that relate to consumers. A consumer is any physical person acting for purposes unrelated to his/her trade, business, craft or profession. The article states that consumers can always cancel non-life insurance without any charges or penalties with two months’ notice, provided that the insurance has been running for at least one year. The right of cancellation must be mentioned on every premium payment request, and the policyholder is entitled to premium credit in the event of early cancellation. The consumer may also ask the new insurer or broker to make the necessary cancellation arrangements on his/her behalf.
Practical requirements for cancellation
It was already possible to cancel an insurance contract by registered letter, notice served by a judicial officer or delivery of a cancellation letter with acknowledgement of receipt. From 1 October, you will also be able to cancel digitally by means of an electronic registered message or with an electronic signature in a digital environment made available by the insurer. In this last case, the cancellation must be confirmed by the insurer. An insurer may not use a digital environment to cancel an insurance contract.