Is a term life insurance policy not paying out? Ask whether this is a final rejection or whether documents are still missing. Then check the term, the sum insured, the beneficiary designation and the precise ground for rejection. Where the insurer relies on medical information that was allegedly withheld, it must be examined which question was asked at the time, what the insured person knew then and what legal consequences that may have.
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Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar for employment law and personal injury. Onur Arslan practised for many years as a corporate lawyer and insolvency trustee (curator) and has extensive experience in financial law disputes. Last updated: 22 September 2026.
For surviving relatives, a payout under a term life insurance policy (ORV) may be needed to cover the mortgage or other fixed costs. A delay or rejection therefore comes at a particularly difficult moment. A well-organised file helps to show quickly where the problem really lies.
Who is entitled to the ORV payout?
The person who took out the insurance, the person whose life is insured and the beneficiary may all be different people. So do not look only at who paid the premium. The policy schedule and any later amendments show who, under the insurance, should receive the payout.
A payout may also have been pledged to a mortgage lender. In that case it must be assessed which part is due to the lender and what remains for other beneficiaries. A will and the beneficiary designation in a life insurance policy are not automatically the same document or the same arrangement.
Where there is uncertainty about a partner, former partner, children or heirs, the beneficiary designation may need to be interpreted. Ask the insurer which documents are missing to establish your entitlement. A certificate of inheritance is not in every situation the same as proof that you are the beneficiary.
Who is who in a term life insurance policy?
A term life insurance policy often involves five different roles, and they are by no means always held by one person. Who can claim what (and whom the insurer must deal with) depends on this.
| Role | Who is that? | What can this person do? | What to look out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Policyholder | The person who took out the insurance and pays the premium | Amend, cancel, change the beneficiary designation; bears the duty of disclosure under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) | With a joint policy, both partners may be policyholders; check the policy schedule |
| Insured person | The person on whose life the insurance was taken out | Nothing, after death; but this is the person whose health declaration was assessed | The insured person’s health declaration is the basis of any dispute about non-disclosure |
| Beneficiary | The person designated to receive the payout | Claim the payout; must accept the beneficiary designation | Check the beneficiary clause on the policy schedule. After a divorce, “the spouse” may designate a different person than intended |
| Pledgee | Usually the mortgage lender, if the policy has been pledged | Receive the payout up to the amount of the outstanding debt | If the policy has been pledged, the payout goes to the bank first; only the surplus reaches the beneficiary |
| Heirs | Those who inherit under a will or by law | Only entitled if they have also been designated as beneficiary | Where a beneficiary has been designated, an ORV payout in principle does not form part of the estate, so being an heir is not enough |
A delay in payment is not always a rejection
The insurer may need information about the death, the identity of the beneficiary and the bank account. Sometimes medical information is examined or a foreign certificate has to be assessed. Ask which information is necessary, who may provide it and what the next step will be.
Ask the insurer to confirm whether it disputes cover or is merely still checking the recipient’s entitlement. Ask for a contact person and a realistic timetable. That also allows you to explain to a mortgage lender why the money is not yet available.
The term life insurance conditions of Nationale-Nederlanden illustrate that the term, beneficiary designation, required information and pledging are separate subjects. The conditions of your own policy remain decisive.
Rejection on the basis of the health declaration
An insurer may argue that relevant information was missing from the application. In that case, place the original health declaration next to the rejection. Which question was asked? Which period did that question cover? Which complaint, treatment or diagnosis was known at the time? What was established only later?
Medical knowledge with hindsight may not simply be equated with what the insured person knew at the time of the application. At the same time, a question about complaints or examinations may have been relevant even without a definitive diagnosis. The exact wording makes a difference.
Also ask the insurer which underwriting decision it would have taken had it received correct information, and what that is based on. Would a higher premium, an exclusion or different insurance have followed, or does it claim that no insurance would have been concluded at all? Those alternatives do not necessarily have the same consequences for the payout.
Three statutory periods and tests are important here, and they work in your favour more often than insurers let on:
- Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code: what had to be disclosed. Before the contract is concluded, the policyholder must disclose all facts that he knows or ought to know and of which he knows or ought to understand that the insurer’s decision depends on them. If something was not asked and was not relevant to acceptance, there is no breach.
- Article 7:929 of the Dutch Civil Code: the two-month period. An insurer that discovers that the duty of disclosure has been breached can invoke the consequences only if it notifies the policyholder of the non-compliance within two months of that discovery, stating the possible consequences. If that period is exceeded, the insurer can no longer rely on the breach. So always ask: when did the insurer discover this, and when did it notify you?
- Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code: the consequence is rarely all or nothing. If the facts that were not disclosed or were disclosed incorrectly are irrelevant to the risk that actually materialised, the full amount is paid (paragraph 2). If, had it known the true state of affairs, the insurer would have charged a higher premium or insured a lower amount, the payout is reduced only proportionately (paragraph 3). Full refusal is reserved for more serious cases, such as intent to deceive.
For the general assessment, also read claim rejected due to non-disclosure.
Premium arrears and termination
A missed premium payment and a validly terminated insurance policy are not the same thing, and the law imposes a strict requirement here. Under Article 7:934 of the Dutch Civil Code, non-payment of a subsequent premium can lead to termination or suspension of the insurance or the cover only after the debtor, following the due date, has been unsuccessfully reminded to pay within a period of fourteen days, starting on the day after the reminder, and that reminder has pointed out the consequences of non-payment. If that reminder is missing, or if it lacks the warning about the consequences, the termination or suspension is not legally valid and the cover simply continues. So request the payment history, the reminders, the formal reminder with the fourteen-day period and the termination letter. Check the addresses, proof of receipt, relevant periods and any notices sent to a beneficiary or pledgee.
If the death occurred after the end date of the insurance, that may be decisive. However, check which end date was actually agreed and whether an amendment or extension was confirmed. A telephone conversation about continuation is not the same as an accepted extension; gather all correspondence about it.
Exclusions and special circumstances
Policies may contain specific provisions on certain causes of death and circumstances. Have the actual wording and its applicability assessed. Avoid general assumptions that a death abroad is always excluded or that any unusual cause of death voids the entire claim.
Where sensitive medical information is concerned, careful disclosure is important. Surviving relatives do not automatically have an unlimited right to all medical records of the deceased. Ask which targeted information is needed and through which authorised and secure route it can be requested.
Putting together a file for reassessment
Use the same structure for each ground for rejection: ground / evidence / request. This allows the insurer to respond point by point and makes it visible what remains unanswered.
- The full rejection letter: for each ground stated, the policy article on which the insurer relies.
- The policy schedule and the conditions in the correct version: those applicable when the policy was taken out, with the beneficiary clause and any pledge.
- The application and the health declaration: ask for a copy, because you can only assess whether something was “withheld” once you see what was asked and answered at the time.
- If the insurer relies on the duty of disclosure: ask in writing when the insurer discovered the breach and when it notified you of it (the two-month period of Article 7:929 BW). Also ask which underwriting decision it would have taken with correct information, because that determines whether Article 7:930(2) or 7:930(3) BW applies.
- If the insurer relies on premium arrears: the full payment history, every reminder, and the formal reminder with the fourteen-day period and the warning about the consequences (Article 7:934 BW). If that reminder is missing, the termination is not legally valid.
- If the insurer relies on an exclusion: the literal wording of the exclusion and the medical or factual grounds on which the insurer applies it.
- Medical information, to the extent available: the GP’s records, specialists’ letters, the death certificate and, if necessary, the cause of death statement.
- Proof of your own position: as beneficiary, heir or pledgee, for example a certificate of inheritance, marriage certificate or mortgage redemption statement.
- A specific request for each ground: which decision do you want, and within what period do you expect a response?
Draw up a timeline covering the application, acceptance, policy amendments, premium payments, the death and correspondence. Attach the policy schedule, the correct conditions, the health declaration to the extent available and the written rejection. Organise the evidence per ground for rejection.
Then set out in writing who is claiming the payout, which ground the insurer relies on and why you dispute it. Ask for the underlying underwriting or medical reasoning, to the extent that it can be disclosed. State which decision you want and ask for a specific response.
Finally, keep an eye on the limitation period. Article 7:942 of the Dutch Civil Code provides that a legal claim against the insurer for payment becomes time-barred after three years from the start of the day following the day on which the person entitled to payment became aware that it was due. You interrupt that period with a written notice in which you claim payment; if the insurer has unequivocally rejected the claim, a new three-year period begins from the following day. This matters for surviving relatives: the period runs from when you became aware that payment was due, not necessarily from the date of death. Have this established for your own situation, and do not wait for legal advice until the financial pressure becomes unbearable.
Beneficiary designation, application information and cause of death
Ask whether the insurer disputes the cover, the beneficiary or certain information in the application. The beneficiary designation in the policy is not necessarily the same as the heirs under a will. A pledge may also affect who receives payment.
Where non-disclosure is alleged, the original questions and answers must be examined. A later medical development does not automatically prove that incorrect information was knowingly given in the application. Request the specific ground for rejection and the documents required.
Also read about non-disclosure in the application and the limitation period for insurance claims.
Frequently asked questions about a refused term life insurance payout
Does the payout always go to the heirs?
No. The beneficiary designation and any pledge are decisive. The designated recipient may be someone other than the heirs. If this is unclear, the policy must be interpreted legally.
May the insurer ask medical questions after the death?
There may be grounds for a targeted assessment, but necessity and the rules on access to medical information remain important. Ask which information is needed and why.
Is an illness discovered later automatically non-disclosure?
No. What matters are the questions asked and the knowledge at the time of the application. A diagnosis made later does not in itself prove that the insured person knowingly or incorrectly withheld relevant information.
Can an incorrect health declaration lead to a lower payout?
That is possible, depending on the statutory rules and the circumstances. Full rejection is not the only conceivable outcome. The underwriting policy and the nature of the missing information must be examined.
What if the mortgage lender receives the money?
Request the pledge documents, the outstanding amount and the settlement statement. Check which amount is used for repayment and whether any remainder is due to other beneficiaries.
Can I go to Kifid or to court?
A complaint to Kifid, the Dutch Financial Services Complaints Tribunal, may be possible if the conditions of its rules are met. The civil courts may also be an option. First have it assessed who should bring the proceedings and which documents are needed.
Help with a rejected term life insurance claim
Would you like clarity about your position as a surviving relative or beneficiary? Contact Arslan Advocaten with the policy and the rejection. An assessment within insurance law starts with the specific reason why the insurer has not yet paid.
Legally reviewed by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Reviewed on 13 September 2026.
