As a general rule, an insurance contract is automatically renewed at the end of each year. The insured, having found more attractive offers from a company other than his own, could not change his insurance when he wished. It was not until 2015 and thanks to the adoption of the Hamon law that insurance customers obtained the right to terminate an insurance contract and take out another cover when they wanted to. wish.
What is Hamon’s law?
The Hamon Law or Consumer Law was implemented on March 17, 2014, in order to streamline the insurance market and make it possible to terminate an insurance contract at any time without having to present proof. This law is applied to contracts signed or renewed after January 2015. As such, the SFAM (Société française d’assurances multirisques) points out that car, motorcycle and home insurance are among the types of coverage affected by this law.
In order to avoid any problem in the event that the insured forgets to renew his contract after its expiry date, the majority of insurance contracts are automatically renewed on the anniversary date of their signature, this operation is called “Tacit renewal” in the event that neither the insurer nor the insured wish to terminate it. The process of terminating an insurance contract is very formal. Regarding insurance contracts signed before January 2015, the insured could not cancel at the last minute.
What has changed with the Hamon law?
Indeed, the cover was renewed automatically, unless the insured sent an official letter informing his insurance company that he wished to terminate his insurance contract. This had to be done between three months and fifteen days before the renewal date and he had to send the letter by registered mail. Otherwise, the insurance was not terminated and the insured was legally obliged to pay for the following year.
With the new Hamon law, once the first year has passed, it is no longer necessary to wait for a specific date before the anniversary of the contract, the insured can change insurance at any time after this first year. The request can be made by mail, telephone or email.
How to terminate an insurance contract?
The procedure for terminating an insurance contract is very simple, the new insurance company chosen by the insured can act on his behalf and take care of the formalities for terminating the old policy, which means that the client All you have to do is sign your new insurance contract and let your insurer settle the transition. The change takes effect within one month.
The details of the policy, the date of receipt of the document, the reason for the cancellation and other details must be mentioned in the request for termination. Upon receipt of the cancellation request, the insurance company will contact the policyholder to find out the reasons for the cancellation and try to offer solutions. If the insured wishes to terminate the insurance contract, the company is obliged to accept his decision.
In the event that the insured has paid the total amount of cover for a year, the insurer would be obliged to reimburse the amount of the contributions for the period after the date of termination, i.e. , not covered by the old insurance, and this, within one month after this date.
