Your rights
as a policyholder
An insurance contract gives you specific rights and imposes specific deadlines. Here are the ones we have most often seen decide a claim, explained without jargon and with the legal basis for each.
When you take it out
What you declare, what you are no longer required to declare, and the window to change your mind.
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I left something out signing up: do I lose cover?
What happens if you left something out of the questionnaire in good faith — and why that is not the same as lying.
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I have beaten cancer: do I have to declare it?
Since 2023 there is a point after which the law forbids it from being taken into account.
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I took out life insurance and changed my mind
There are 30 days to undo it without giving reasons. How they are counted and what falls outside.
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While the policy runs
Four moments where a deadline is running and hardly anyone knows it.
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A premium payment bounced: am I still covered?
There is a month of grace, and then a window where the contract lives but does not cover you.
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My risk has gone down: can my premium go down too?
The law recognises the right to ask for a reduction. What it does not do is apply it by itself.
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Selling my car or home: what happens to the policy?
The policy is not cancelled automatically: it passes to the buyer. And there is a 15-day notice that is on you.
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I want to switch insurer: when must I give notice?
The date that matters is not renewal day but a month before it. And the company is held to twice that.
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When something happens
There is already a claim on the table. These are the deadlines and rights that protect you.
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I have just had a claim: when must I report it?
Seven days — and reporting before you have every detail beats waiting until you do.
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I do not agree with what the loss adjuster says
The first report is not the end: you can appoint your own expert, and a third one steps in if there is no agreement.
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My insurer is not paying, or is dragging its feet
The deadline is not “whenever they can”: it is a legal one, and missing it has a price in interest.
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How long do I have to make a claim?
Two years or five, depending on the type of policy. The difference matters more than it looks.
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Can I choose my own lawyer?
Yes — and the lawyer you choose takes no instructions from the insurer.
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Does your case not fit any of these?
This section explains what the law says in general terms. If what you have in front of you is a specific case, we will go through it with you — that is what a broker is for.