Cancel insurance in the Netherlands: car, home and health

Quick answer

By law, notice to stop an insurance policy from renewing (opzeggen) is two months before the renewal date (art. 7:940 lid 1 BW). After the first year, most insurers let you cancel at any time with at most one month’s notice, but that rule comes from the insurers’ code of conduct, not from the law. You can always cancel by e-mail (art. 7:940 lid 6 BW); no registered letter is required. Basic health insurance (zorgverzekering) is cancelled by 31 December, with new cover before 1 February. When you sell a car, cancel the policy yourself once the car is out of your name.

This guide covers policies taken out by consumers with insurers in the Netherlands: car, home contents, personal liability, travel and basic health insurance. It is general information, not legal advice. For phone, energy and other subscriptions, see cancelling a contract in the Netherlands; for a dispute with the insurer, see formal complaints in the Netherlands. Have your policy schedule (polisblad) and policy conditions (polisvoorwaarden) to hand.

Check the policy dates first

The polisblad shows the start date (ingangsdatum), the term and the renewal date. In the first contract year you are usually bound until the end date (AFM, the Dutch financial markets authority). Non-life policies normally run for at most 12 months; a longer term requires an express agreement, such as a second signature. A policy concluded or renewed for more than five years can be cancelled at the end of every fifth year with two months’ notice (art. 7:940 lid 2 BW).

Cancel at renewal or after the first year

The statutory rule is two months’ notice before the end of the insurance period, and the policy may not set a longer period to your detriment (art. 7:940 lid 1 and 7:943 lid 2 BW). On top of that, members of the Verbond van Verzekeraars, the insurers’ association to which almost all insurers belong, follow a code of conduct: once a non-life or income insurance policy has been extended by a further 12 months, you may cancel at any time with at most one month’s notice, and premium for the remaining period is refunded pro rata (Gedragscode, art. 3.4 and 3.6). The AFM describes this as the norm. The code does not bind an insurer that is not a member, does not cover life insurance, and does not apply while a longer term you expressly agreed to is still running; there, the two-month rule applies. The zorgverzekering follows its own statutory rules, set out below. Whether art. 6:236 onder j BW, the one-month rule for renewed subscriptions, also covers insurance is unsettled, so do not rely on it.

If the insurer changes the terms to your detriment, you may cancel so that the policy ends on the day the change takes effect; you keep this right for at least one month after the insurer tells you about the change (art. 7:940 lid 4 BW). After a mid-term cancellation, the premium is reduced fairly (art. 7:939 BW). Stopping your payments is not a cancellation: the insurer sends a reminder giving you 14 days to pay, then collects the premium or suspends cover (art. 7:934 BW).

Write your cancellation letter

State the type of insurance, the policy and customer (relatie) numbers and your date of birth; for car insurance, add the registration number (kenteken). The cancellation must be unconditional. The example takes effect on the date you choose or, failing that, at the earliest date the conditions and the law allow, so a date that is too early does not invalidate it. Keep the bracketed sentence that fits your case and delete the others. Do not include your citizen service number (BSN) unless the insurer asks for it. Add both addresses and the date, and sign.

Onderwerp: Opzegging [soort verzekering] — polisnummer [polisnummer]

Geachte heer, mevrouw,

Hierbij zeg ik de [soort verzekering, bijvoorbeeld autoverzekering of inboedelverzekering] op met polisnummer [polisnummer] en relatienummer [relatienummer], op naam van [voornaam en achternaam], geboren op [geboortedatum]. [Bij een autoverzekering: Het gaat om het voertuig met kenteken [kenteken].]

Ik zeg de verzekering op met ingang van [gewenste einddatum] of, als dat niet mogelijk is, met ingang van de eerst mogelijke datum die de polisvoorwaarden en de wet toestaan, met inachtneming van de geldende opzegtermijn.

[Indien van toepassing: Het verzekerde voertuig staat sinds [datum] niet meer op mijn naam; een kopie van het vrijwaringsbewijs stuur ik mee.] [Of: Ik zeg op naar aanleiding van de wijziging van de voorwaarden die u mij op [datum] hebt meegedeeld (artikel 7:940 lid 4 BW).]

Ik verzoek u mij binnen veertien dagen schriftelijk te bevestigen dat u deze opzegging hebt ontvangen en per welke datum de verzekering eindigt. Ik verzoek u daarnaast de automatische incasso na die datum stop te zetten en te veel betaalde premie terug te betalen op rekeningnummer [IBAN] ten name van [naam rekeninghouder].

Met vriendelijke groet, [Voornaam en achternaam] [Handtekening]

Withdraw from a new policy: herroepingsrecht

If you took out a policy at a distance, for example online or by phone, you may withdraw without penalty or reasons within 14 calendar days, or 30 days for life insurance of more than six months (art. 6:230x lid 1–2 BW). Consumer websites call this the herroepingsrecht; the statute speaks of ontbinden. The period runs from the conclusion of the contract, or from receipt of the required information if that comes later, and the right counts as exercised in time if you send your notice before the period ends (lid 3). There is no such right for a policy concluded in person at an office or for insurance lasting less than one month, such as a short single-trip travel policy (lid 4). The insurer may charge only a proportionate amount for cover you asked to start, and must refund you within 30 days (art. 6:230y BW). From 25 June 2026, a policy concluded online must come with a withdrawal function on the insurer’s website (art. 6:230oa BW).

Car insurance after selling the car

The car must be insured as long as it is registered in your name, even if it is not used (art. 2 lid 1 WAM); driving or keeping it uninsured is a criminal offence. Once the registration has been transferred, the RDW, the Dutch vehicle registration authority, gives you a vrijwaringsbewijs, proof that the car is no longer in your name, and says that you stop or change the insurance yourself. Whether a policy ends automatically on sale depends on its conditions, so do not wait for it: send the letter above with the vrijwaringsbewijs. Under the code of conduct, a former owner can cancel with effect from the next working day (Gedragscode, art. 3.5). If the vrijwaringsbewijs did not arrive, report it to the RDW within three months; many insurers also accept the RDW overview of vehicles registered in your name. A suspended registration (schorsing) means the car need not be insured, but it must stay off the public road.

Health insurance (zorgverzekering)

You can cancel the zorgverzekering by 31 December of each year, with effect from 1 January (art. 7 lid 1 Zvw); your cancellation must reach the insurer by that date. A new policy taken out within one month, so before 1 February, runs back to 1 January (art. 5 lid 5 onder b Zvw). The easiest route is the overstapservice, a switching service run by the insurers: if you take out the new policy by 31 December, the new insurer cancels the old one for you. Do not cancel without arranging new cover. You generally switch only once a year; changed terms are an exception (art. 7:940 lid 4 BW), unless they follow directly from changes to the statutory basic package (art. 7 lid 3 Zvw).

Two traps. Once the insurer has sent a payment reminder, you cannot cancel while premium, interest or collection costs remain unpaid, unless the insurer confirms the cancellation within two weeks (art. 8a Zvw). If you move abroad, the policy ends by law the day after your obligation to be insured ends, but you must tell the insurer (art. 6 Zvw); whether that obligation ends depends on your situation, so ask your insurer or the SVB, the Dutch social insurance bank. Say whether you cancel the basic insurance, the supplementary insurance (aanvullende verzekering), or both: when only the basic insurance moves, the government says your old insurer may not cancel the supplementary one, and the supplementary policy’s own end date depends on its conditions.

Onderwerp: Opzegging zorgverzekering per 1 januari [jaar] — polisnummer [polisnummer]

Geachte heer, mevrouw,

Hierbij zeg ik als verzekeringnemer de zorgverzekering (basisverzekering) met polisnummer [polisnummer] op met ingang van 1 januari [jaar] (artikel 7 lid 1 Zorgverzekeringswet). De opzegging geldt voor de volgende verzekerden: [voornaam, achternaam en geboortedatum van iedere verzekerde].

[Indien gewenst: Ik zeg ook de aanvullende verzekering met polisnummer [polisnummer] op, met ingang van de eerst mogelijke datum die de polisvoorwaarden toestaan.]

Ik verzoek u mij schriftelijk te bevestigen dat u deze opzegging hebt ontvangen en per welke datum de verzekering eindigt, en de automatische incasso na die datum stop te zetten.

Met vriendelijke groet, [Voornaam en achternaam] [Handtekening]

If the insurer disagrees

Use the insurer’s internal complaints procedure first. For car, home, liability, travel and life insurance, you can then go to Kifid, the financial services complaints institute, if the insurer has not answered within eight weeks or you disagree with its answer; file within three months of its final position or one year of your first complaint. It is free for consumers. Complaints about health insurance go to SKGZ, the health insurance ombudsman and disputes committee, not Kifid: complain to the insurer first, then file within one year of its reply; mediation is free and a ruling costs a €37 fee (as listed in October 2026). Claims up to €25,000 go to the sub-district court (kantonrechter), without a lawyer (art. 93 and 79 Rv).

Post your letter and keep evidence

Upload your final PDF or write the letter in MaisonMail, and add the vrijwaringsbewijs or other documents as PDFs in the send flow. Use the address in your policy conditions or on the insurer’s website. The recipient address determines the destination; available services, estimated delivery and the final price appear before payment. A cancellation takes effect when it reaches the insurer (art. 3:37 lid 3 BW), so allow time for printing and delivery, especially before 31 December; only a withdrawal counts when sent. No statute requires an aangetekende brief (registered letter) to cancel a policy, and a standard or tracked letter is not one. Send the same text by e-mail or through the insurer’s online form, and ask for written confirmation. Keep a copy of the exact letter: tracking shows that an item arrived, not what it contained.