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There are many reasons you might want to close the door on your home insurance policy – you might be moving to a new city, downsizing homes or switching insurers because they’re not a right fit.
If you've decided to cancel your home insurance, you should start by calling your insurance provider. You'll need to be the named policyholder in order to cancel your contract. Your insurer should tell you if you need to contact them in writing about your cancellation.
If they do, be ready to include the following information:
When you contact your insurer, they should tell you about any fees you have to pay. Bear in mind that stopping your direct debit won't cancel your home insurance policy. You'll need to tell your provider directly that you want to end your contract.
Yes. If you decide to cancel for any reason, all you have to do is let your insurer know. There might be a different way to cancel your policy depending on how you’re paying:
You won’t pay any fee if you cancel within your cooling-off period and you haven’t made any claims. If you cancel outside your cooling-off period, you’ll most likely pay a cancellation fee of around $30-$40. Plus, you need to pay any government taxes still owed (this will apply whether you are paying monthly or you’ve paid annually).
Here is a list of cancellation fees for five leading Australian home insurance companies.
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A cooling-off period is a time during which you can get out of your contract, without being charged, if you change your mind. For new home insurance plans, this will usually be 14 or 21 days after you first take out your cover. After this period, you'll need to pay a cancellation fee to cancel your contract.
There is no situation where you can’t cancel your policy. As long as you let your insurer know you want to cancel and you pay the relevant fees, you should have no problem cancelling.
If you cancel within your cooling-off period and you have made a claim, you can still cancel but you won’t receive any refund for the period you were insured.
Besides the small cancellation fee, you may face some downsides for cancelling early. Here’s where you could run into trouble:
No. You can’t transfer your home insurance to someone else because the insurer needs to rework details of the cover based on the new person’s individual circumstances.
Let’s say someone purchases your house and needs home insurance. The insurer will need to recalculate the new owner’s premiums based on more than just the house’s value. For example, they’ll want to know if the new owner has a history of making home insurance claims, whether they have a criminal record and whether they represent a bigger risk based on their age.
They could end up with a vastly different premium, so it’s necessary for them to start from square one if they want to insure the house.
Yes, many insurers will allow you to transfer your policy to a new home without paying any fees. If your insurer offers this benefit, it will probably come with the following conditions:
Insurers who offer this will usually also allow you to transfer your contents insurance to the new home. If they offer “contents in transit” protection, they may also cover your belongings while you are transporting them from the old house to the new one.
Yes. If your policy is about to expire or you don’t want to pay a fee, you can wait until your policy end date and simply contact the insurer and cancel it before it renews.
Just prior to your end date, many insurers will send you a renewal invitation spelling out any new terms for the coming year.
If you don’t respond to the renewal invitation, some insurers will automatically renew your policy under the new terms. This is done to protect you so that you don’t end up being uninsured, but you’ll also get a brand new cooling-off period of 14-21 days, depending on the insurer. If you cancel during this time, you’ll get a full refund.
If you’re set on switching to a different insurer or you no longer require home insurance (for example, you’re moving overseas), cancelling is your best bet.
If you’re just trying to score a better deal, you should consider talking to your insurer. You might be able to reduce your premiums by doing the following:
According to The Financial Rights Legal Centre, there are some circumstances when insurers may cancel your policy during the period of your insurance. This could be if your provider receives "additional information provided by you that increases the insurer's risk to an unacceptable level". Another time they may do so is if you've failed to keep up with your premiums.
To dispute a policy cancellation, it's best to lodge a complaint with The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
Picture: Unsplash
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