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Sophie

Cancelling a supplementary policy

A supplementary policy is not cancelled on the basic insurance calendar, and the next insurer is entitled to turn you down. This page gives you the letter — after one check.

First: do you already hold the written acceptance?

In the supplementary field an insurer may ask health questions, exclude a condition, or refuse. The duty to accept applies to basic cover only. Cancelling before you are accepted elsewhere risks leaving you with nothing — and past fifty, that risk is often permanent.

  1. 1Get accepted elsewhere firstAsk for a quote, complete the health questionnaire, and wait for the WRITTEN acceptance. Nothing is cancelled before that.
  2. 2Read your own deadlineIt is in your general conditions, not in the law. Three months before the annual expiry is the most common case, not a rule.
  3. 3Fill in and signCopy the letter, fill in what is in brackets — name, address, policy number — print and sign.
  4. 4Send by registered postIt is the only proof of the date of receipt. Keep the receipt and the insurer’s confirmation.

What differs from basic cover

  • The deadline is the one in YOUR contract, not 30 November. It is often three months before the annual expiry — so end of September for a 31 December expiry. Read your general conditions: they are the only source that counts.
  • Some contracts have a minimum term of several years. A cancellation sent during that period has no effect.
  • The next insurer may refuse, or accept with an exclusion. That is lawful in the supplementary field, and it is why acceptance always comes before cancellation.
  • A premium increase generally opens an extraordinary right of cancellation, with a short deadline from the notice. If you have received an increase, check that clause before anything else.