When you take out insurance over the Internet, you are making an online purchase and, as such, you are assisted by current legislation on electronic commerce, which allows you to return any product or cancel any contract within 14 calendar days of receiving it. . This is known as the right of withdrawal. This also applies to insurance contracted online. In this article we tell you how to cancel an insurance contracted online and what period you have to do it.
Right of withdrawal in contracting insurance through the Internet
An insurance contract made online is a distance contract in the terms defined according to Law 3/2014, of March 27, which modifies the consolidated text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users and other laws complementary, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of November 16. As a distance contract, the insured has the right to exercise the right of withdrawal.
The General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users defines the right of withdrawal from a contract as the power of the consumer and user to nullify the contract entered into, thus notifying the other contracting party within the period established for the exercise of that right, without the need to justify their decision and without penalty of any kind. In addition, it makes it clear that the clauses that impose a penalty on the consumer and user for exercising their right of withdrawal will be null and void.
According to this Law, the consumer and user will have a minimum period of fourteen calendar days to exercise the right of withdrawal, provided that the entrepreneur has complied with the duty of information and documentation established by Law. The period begins to count from the reception of the object of the contract or from the conclusion of this if the object of the contract was the provision of services. But if the employer does not comply with the duty of information and documentation on the right of withdrawal, the term for its exercise will end twelve months after the expiration date of the initial withdrawal period.
Some frequently asked questions about canceling insurance contracted online
How to exercise the right of withdrawal?
In order to exercise the right of withdrawal and cancel an insurance contract made online, it is necessary for the policyholder to notify the insurer at its registered office before the end of the corresponding period, by certified mail or other procedure that allows reliable evidence of the notification.
If I cancel insurance contracted online, will I have to pay anything?
The right of withdrawal cannot imply any type of penalty. When exercising the right of withdrawal, you are only obliged to pay for the service provided by the insurer up to the time of withdrawal. Once the notice of withdrawal has been received by the insurer, the coverage of the insurance contract will be without effect.
Can I lose the right of withdrawal before the fourteen days marked by the Law?
If you notify the insurance of any claim during the first days of the contract, you lose the right to withdraw from the contract, since you have already used the services of the insurer.
What do I do if I miss the withdrawal period to cancel an insurance contracted online?
Unfortunately, if you missed the deadline to exercise your right of withdrawal, you will not be able to cancel the insurance for that annuity. The only thing you can do is cancel the renewal.