Termination of insurance: consequences and what you can do

“Royement” means the termination or administrative cancellation of an insurance policy. The word alone does not mean fraud or blacklisting. Check who ended the policy, the reason, the effective date and whether the insurer separately notified you of a registration.

What does royement mean for your insurance?

A policy may end routinely, for example after a sale or cancellation, or following a dispute about premiums, disclosure or a claim. Those situations have different consequences. Request the termination letter, the relevant policy provision and any separate registration notice before drawing conclusions.

Reasons for royement of your insurance

An insurer can royer your insurance for various reasons. It is important to know which grounds exist for a royement so that you can assess whether the royement is justified in your case.

Royement due to fraud

If the insurer determines that you have committed fraud, this can lead to the immediate royement of your insurance. This includes deliberately providing incorrect information in a claim, exaggerating the damage or faking an incident of damage.

A fraud allegation can lead to a separate EVR registration only if the applicable requirements are met. A suspicion or termination alone is not enough. The grounds, evidence, necessity and proportionality of the registration, including its duration, must be assessed separately.

Royement due to breach of the duty to disclose (mededelingsplicht)

If it appears that you omitted relevant information when taking out the insurance, the insurer can terminate the policy. The duty to disclose (mededelingsplicht) obliges you to answer all questions honestly and completely when applying. Breach of this duty can, depending on the severity, lead to royement.

Royement due to non-payment

Failure to pay premiums is a common reason for royement. However, the insurer must first give you the opportunity to pay the outstanding amount. Only after a reminder and the expiry of a reasonable payment period may the insurer royer the policy due to non-payment.

Consequences of royement of your insurance

The consequences of royement of an insurance reach much further than the loss of your current

coverage. The royement can affect your financial future for years.

Loss of insurance coverage

Check the exact date on which cover ends. For a Dutch-registered motor vehicle, the obligation to maintain WA insurance generally continues even if you do not drive; a valid RDW suspension is a separate step with its own conditions. Merely applying for new insurance does not establish cover. Basic health insurance follows its own statutory rules, so do not assume that every premium problem or cancellation notice automatically ends that cover. Ask the health insurer to explain the legal basis.

Registration in the Centraal Informatiesysteem

Some terminations can be recorded in Stichting CIS under the rules for the relevant registration category. Not every cancellation is a CIS entry or an EVR fraud registration. Ask which register was used, what was recorded, for how long and on what grounds. You can request access to your CIS data.

Registration in the Extern Verwijzingsregister

In the case of royement due to fraud or serious irregularities the insurer can also register you in the Extern Verwijzingsregister (EVR). This register is shared by all affiliated financial institutions, not only insurers but also banks.

An EVR registration can remain for a maximum of eight years and has major consequences for your ability to obtain financial products. This affects not only insurances but can also lead to problems with banks.

Difficulties in taking out new insurance

After a royement it is often difficult to take out a new insurance. Insurers are reluctant to accept policyholders who have previously been royed. If you are accepted, this is usually at a substantially higher premium and with restrictive conditions. With an EVR registration it can happen that no insurer wants to accept you.

What can you do after royement of your insurance?

A royement feels definitive, but there are possibilities to improve your situation. It is important to act quickly, because the longer you wait, the harder it becomes to undo the consequences.

Check whether the royement is justified

The first step is to check whether the insurer carried out the royement on proper grounds and in the correct manner. The insurer must meet certain conditions before it may royer a policy.

In the case of royement due to non-payment the insurer must have sent you a reminder with a reasonable payment term. In the case of royement due to fraud there must be sufficient evidence for the accusation. If the insurer did not comply with the rules, the royement may be invalid.

Object to the registration

If you believe that the registration in the CIS or the EVR is unjustified, you can object to the insurer. You can request the registration be removed or that the registration period be shortened. If the insurer rejects your objection, you can file a complaint with the Kifid or start proceedings in court. (Kifid = Klachteninstituut Financiële Dienstverlening, the Dutch Financial Services Complaints Institute)

Find an insurer that will accept you

Acceptance policies differ. Ask an independent adviser about available cover and answer application questions truthfully. Compulsory WA motor insurance does not give you a general right to acceptance by an insurer. Basic health insurance does have a statutory acceptance rule, with exceptions: an insurer that ended your previous policy for fraud or non-payment may, in the circumstances described in article 3 of the Zorgverzekeringswet, refuse you for up to five years. That exception concerns that insurer; it is not a general refusal by all health insurers. Supplementary health insurance has different acceptance rules.

Challenge royement at Kifid

The Klachteninstituut Financiële Dienstverlening (Kifid) handles consumer complaints against insurers. If you believe the royement is unjustified or that the insurer acted disproportionately, you can file a complaint with Kifid. The disputes committee assesses whether the insurer acted correctly and can require the insurer to reverse the royement or remove the registration.

Challenge royement in court

Consider the complaint route before choosing between Kifid and court proceedings. After a binding Kifid decision, a full new assessment by the court is not automatically available; judicial review is limited. Health insurance complaints generally follow the insurer’s complaints procedure and then SKGZ. A court request concerning personal-data rights may have a short statutory deadline after a rejection, so have the applicable route and time limit checked promptly.

In case law there are regularly cases in which judges have ordered registrations to be removed or shortened because the insurer’s measures were disproportionate to the irregularity found.

Royement and the consequences for your family

An aspect that is often overlooked is that the royement of your insurance can also affect your family members. For many insurances, such as personal liability insurance and household contents insurance, family members are co-insured. If the insurer royers your policy, your partner and children also lose their coverage. This can be particularly problematic because the reason for the royement lies with you, but the consequences also affect family members who are not at fault.

Moreover, a registration in your name can affect your family members’ possibilities to take out insurance at a joint address. Some insurers are reluctant to accept insurance if one of the residents at the address is registered in the EVR. It is therefore important, when challenging a royement, to also consider the interests of your family members.

Check the reason, end date and registration separately

Do not rely on the label “royement” alone. Compare the termination letter with the policy and any registration notice. A routine cancellation, a payment dispute and an accusation of fraud call for different responses. If family members were co-insured, check their cover and replacement arrangements as well.

The impact on your daily life

The royement of your insurance not only affects your financial situation but can also influence your daily life. If you do not have car insurance, you cannot drive. If you do not have liability insurance, you face a great risk if you accidentally cause damage. If you lack household contents insurance, you are on your own in the event of theft or fire. These practical consequences make it all the more important to take swift action after a royement.

Subsidised legal aid for royement

Challenging a royement or a registry entry does not have to be unaffordable. If your income is limited, you may be eligible for a subsidie (toevoeging) via the Raad voor Rechtsbijstand (Legal Aid Board). With subsidised legal aid you pay only a limited personal contribution and the government covers the majority of the lawyer’s costs. This also makes it possible for people with a limited budget to legally contest an unjust royement.

Preventive measures to avoid royement

Prevention is better than cure. There are various steps you can take to prevent your insurer from royering your policy. Always pay your premiums on time and contact your insurer immediately if you have payment problems to arrange a solution. When filing claims, always be honest and complete in your statement. Do not exaggerate the damage and mention all relevant circumstances, even if you think they might be detrimental to you.

It is also wise to contact your insurer or advisor if you are unsure about the scope of your coverage before submitting a claim. In this way you prevent misunderstandings that could later be considered irregularities. Always keep copies of all correspondence, claim reports and policy documents so that, in the event of a dispute, you can demonstrate that you acted correctly.

Take action against an unjust royement

A royement of your insurance does not have to be the end of the story. With the right legal assistance you can challenge the royement, have registrations removed and restore your insurance opportunities. It is important to act quickly, because the longer a registration remains, the harder it becomes to undo the consequences. Have you been confronted with the royement of your insurance and do you want to know what you can do?

specialised in insurance law and will help you protect your rights. Together we will see whether the royement is justified and which steps you can take to improve your position.