Student housing: how to cancel your home insurance?

Student life is not always easy. Indeed, there are a decent number of administrative procedures to take care of throughout the school year. In addition to registering for university or school and finding a place to live, you also have to deal with all the paperwork related to student housing. After having put together the file to be able to sign the lease, you then need to take out an insurance contract with an insurance provider to cover any possible damage. When it comes to home insurance, there are a number of rules to follow, both for taking out the policy and for cancelling it. We're going to deal with the latter point here. Cancellation is not always easy, not to mention the fact that cases vary depending on the student's situation. That's why it's important to know the various terms and conditions for cancelling home insurance in detail.

Student housing insurance

Just like any other tenant, student home insurance is mandatory and must be taken out before moving into a flat, studio or room. As standard, it generally covers rental liability. In particular, this covers furniture, personal belongings, civil liability, personal protection and assistance in the event of water damage, fire or explosion. The insurance is contracted for a period of time and may or may not be renewed once it expires. In addition, it can also be cancelled early. However, there is a very specific framework for cancellation.

Cancelling home insurance on the first renewal date

All contracts are made for a specific period of time and this is stated on the contract. It is therefore possible for any tenant, including students, to cancel the insurance contract after one year, which is the usual time frame for initial renewal. There's no need to tell the company why you want to cancel. In addition, note that the Châtel law obliges the insurer to notify the person taking out the insurance by post of the ability to cancel their home insurance contract a maximum of 3 months and minimum 15 days before the renewal date. To do this, the person who took out the insurance simply needs to send a registered letter of cancellation to their insurance company.

Cancelling a home insurance contract at any time

A second, fairly common case also exists. Cancelling your insurance before the renewal date. Since January 2015, any tenant has the option to terminate their contract early, but only if the first renewal date, i.e. one year of subscription, has passed. In other words, after one year, your home insurance policy can be cancelled at any time. The cancellation will be effective one month after your insurer has received your request by registered mail. Note that the latter must reimburse the tenant for the uninsured months.

The Hamon law applies to multi-risk home contracts (MRH). In addition, if the tenant chooses to switch to a new insurer, the new insurer will be responsible for the termination formalities. As far as students are concerned, the Hamon law allows them more flexibility for mobility. As they are sometimes required to change cities as part of their studies, the fact that they can cancel their home contract at any time after the one-year period is a big plus!