Cancelling your health insurer
Only one deadline truly counts: your letter must have arrived at your insurer by 30 November at the latest. Posted on the 30th is too late.
The ordinary deadline
Basic cover is cancelled for 31 December, taking effect the following 1 January. The cancellation must reach the insurer by 30 November. It is the date of receipt that counts, not the postmark: registered post a few days earlier remains the only solid proof.
The shortened deadline
On the minimum deductible with the standard model, a cancellation by 31 March, effective 30 June, also exists. Rare in practice, because that very combination is the most expensive on the market.
The three traps
- Cancelling before the new insurer has confirmed acceptance. Basic cover cannot refuse you, but an incomplete file can drag: keep proof of posting.
- Confusing basic cover with supplementary policies. Supplementary policies fall under the VVG, with their own deadlines — often three months before expiry — and the new insurer may refuse you.
- Cancelling while premiums are unpaid. An insurer can block your departure until the arrears are settled.
What never changes
No insurer may refuse you basic cover, whatever your age or state of health. No medical questionnaire is allowed. This holds for basic cover only: supplementary policies select freely.