Cancellation insurer rejected my claim: what can I do?
What would you like help with?
Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
Ask which policy clause and facts support the rejection. Match these with your evidence and costs, then submit a focused internal complaint if needed. An unexpected event is not automatically insured. Kifid may be an option afterwards, subject to its own eligibility rules and deadlines.
On this page
- Separate insurance from the booking
- Identify the precise disagreement
- Collect evidence while protecting medical information
- Calculate the disputed balance
- Use the insurer’s internal complaints process
- Check Kifid eligibility and timing
- Choose the next procedure carefully
- My travelling companion was paid. Must I be paid too?
- Documents to prepare
- Sources
1. Separate insurance from the booking
This concerns private cancellation insurance in the Netherlands, not shopping for a new policy. Check that cancellation cover was actually included and covers the people and journey concerned. Rights against the travel provider are separate. Notify that provider too and request a cancellation-cost and refund statement: telling the insurer does not itself cancel your booking.
Kifid · Reis- en annuleringsverzekering: dekking en afwijzing ↗
2. Identify the precise disagreement
Use your policy schedule and applicable terms, not simply today’s online brochure. List booking, insurance start, event, cancellation and claim dates. Identify whether the refusal concerns an uninsured event, missing evidence, an exclusion or a limit. You must establish an insured event; the insurer must support an exclusion it relies on. Absence of an exclusion alone does not establish cover. Check definitions such as travelling companion and family member.
Kifid · Reis- en annuleringsverzekering: dekking en afwijzing ↗
3. Collect evidence while protecting medical information
Connect each disputed fact to a document and ask exactly what is missing. For illness, ask what medical question needs answering and which secure channel to use. A treating doctor does not provide an independent judgment that cancellation was justified, but may supply factual information with consent. Ask how an independent assessment can be arranged if necessary. Do not paste an entire medical file into an ordinary complaint or public chat.
Kifid · Reis- en annuleringsverzekering: dekking en afwijzing ↗
KNMG · Geneeskundige verklaring en feitelijke medische informatie ↗
4. Calculate the disputed balance
For every item list the amount paid, refunds received, refund requests still pending and evidence reference. Then check limits and excess: the remaining loss is not automatically covered in full. Keep provider refunds separate from insurance payments and disclose money received. Retain the cancellation confirmation and cost calculation. Disputing the provider’s cancellation charge may require a separate complaint against that provider.
Kifid · Reis- en annuleringsverzekering: dekking en afwijzing ↗
5. Use the insurer’s internal complaints process
Use the insurer’s internal complaints process rather than simply resubmitting the claim form. Identify the decision, explain how the evidence changes the disputed point and request a concrete outcome. Adapt our draft and retain acknowledgment. If refusal continues, request the final complaints position and information about escalation. If a deadline approaches, do not wait for every document: ask how to provide missing material in time.
Kifid · Reglement Geschillencommissie, artikelen 6, 7, 16–18 en 28–29 ↗
6. Check Kifid eligibility and timing
Check the insurer’s Kifid registration and consumer eligibility. You may proceed after its final internal position, or after eight weeks without such a position. Regulation article 7 includes three months after a written final position that mentions that deadline, one year after first complaining to the provider, and in applicable circumstances a reasonable period after you knew or reasonably should have known of the complaint option. The most favourable applicable period applies. Obtain prompt advice about exceptions and do not wait until the last day. Use Mijn Kifid or its official form and keep the receipt.
Kifid · Reglement Geschillencommissie, artikelen 6, 7, 16–18 en 28–29 ↗
7. Choose the next procedure carefully
Binding Kifid advice generally binds both sides; a court will not automatically reconsider the entire dispute afterwards. Understand binding versus non-binding advice and potential costs before choosing. Admission is not guaranteed, including where the same dispute is already before a court. Kifid’s submission deadline differs from civil limitation of the insurance claim. Have that checked separately for old claims, fraud allegations or substantial sums. Our preparation sends nothing and does not automatically protect deadlines. Use our own help-request route for further assistance.
Kifid · Reglement Geschillencommissie, artikelen 6, 7, 16–18 en 28–29 ↗
Draft complaint about a rejected cancellation claim
Insert verifiable facts and remove irrelevant parts. Submit yourself through the insurer’s complaints process. This is not a Kifid form, medical certificate or guarantee of deadline protection.
Edit your draftWord
Your edits stay on this page and are not automatically saved or sent. Complete every placeholder.
My travelling companion was paid. Must I be paid too?
Not automatically. Compare the insured people, cover, applicable terms and facts. A different policy or goodwill payment does not determine your entitlement. Ask your insurer to assess your situation under your own policy and explain the disputed points.
Documents to prepare
Prepare your next stepFill in and save · Word
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Item 1 / 6 · Where do you stand with this item?
Policy schedule, cancellation module and applicable terms
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For each event, note the date, what happened and where the evidence is kept. Example: 3 October — letter received — correspondence folder.
Describe the solution you would like, such as an explanation of a deduction and repayment of the outstanding amount.
For example: which document is missing, who can provide it and what should I do first?
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After your conversation
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- Policy schedule, cancellation module and applicable terms
- Booking, insurance, event and notification timeline
- Complete refusal and precise policy ground
- Evidence per disputed point; secure medical disclosure only
- Costs, refunds, limits and excess
- Internal complaint, acknowledgment, final position, Kifid eligibility and deadline, separate limitation check
Contact with a lawyer
You can use the chat and information without a phone number. A contact request requires a phone number, a verified email address and your wish for telephone contact. Our team assesses which partner fits your question. Data is shared only under the stated consent procedure. A partner or engagement is not guaranteed.
View the current application processSources
Need personal assistance? Request a lawyer through our chat. We explain the next step; submitting a request does not engage a lawyer. The links below support the legal information.
Kifid · Reis- en annuleringsverzekering: dekking en afwijzing ↗Kifid · Reglement Geschillencommissie, artikelen 6, 7, 16–18 en 28–29 ↗Kifid · Kan Kifid mijn klacht behandelen? ↗Kifid · Klacht indienen ↗ACM ConsuWijzer · Zelf uw reis wijzigen of annuleren ↗KNMG · Geneeskundige verklaring en feitelijke medische informatie ↗Kifid · Werking klachtbehandeling en bindend advies ↗Kifid · Uitspraak 2021-0601: eigen polis en coulance ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.