How do you terminate insurance if you sell your car?

Verified 11 February 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

When you sell your vehicle, you have the right to cancel your car insurance contract. You must therefore notify your insurer before it terminates the contract. But you can also ask them to transfer the contract to another vehicle you buy or to a relative's vehicle (your child for example). You can also request that the contract be suspended until you buy a new car.

Termination of contract

If you sell your vehicle and want to terminate the insurance, you must inform your insurer of the sale and ask them to terminate it.

You will be refunded your contribution for the non-insurance period if you have paid the contribution for a period beyond the termination date.

You must declare the sale of your vehicle to your insurer by registered letter or by a electronic registered mail.

You can use a letter template:

Terminate insurance following the sale of his vehicle

Your mail should include the following:

  • Contact Information
  • Insurance Contract Number
  • Date of sale
  • Make of vehicle and registration number

You must attach a photocopy of the vehicle transfer form to your mail cerfa no. 15776 (keep the original).

The insurance contract will be suspended from midnight on the night of the sale.

Termination of contract takes effect 10 calendar days after receipt of the letter of termination by the insurer.

Transfer of contract

If you are selling your vehicle and you do not want to cancel the car insurance contract, you can ask your insurer to transfer it.

The transfer can be made to another vehicle (if you buy a new one for example) or to another insured (for example the person to whom you give the car).

In the 2 cases, your insurer may refuse the transfer if it considers that it will result in a increased risk.

In addition, the price of the contract after transfer will be modified, since the insurance contribution takes into account not only the characteristics of the insured vehicle, but also the profile of the main driver.

Check with your insurer before the terms of the transfer.

If the transfer is made to another driver of the vehicle that you have transferred, you will be reimbursed for the part of your contribution corresponding to the period of non-insurance.

In case of transfer to a vehicle that belongs to you, there will be compensation.

You must declare the sale of your vehicle to your insurer by registered letter or by a electronic registered mail.

You can use a letter template:

Terminate insurance following the sale of his vehicle

Your mail should include the following:

  • Contact Information
  • Insurance Contract Number
  • Date of sale
  • Make of vehicle and registration number
  • Make of new vehicle to be insured and registration number
  • Information on the new owner of the car sold

You must attach a photocopy of the vehicle transfer form to your mail cerfa no. 15776 (keep the original).

The initial insurance contract will be suspended from midnight on the night of the sale.

The transfer of insurance will take effect once the addendum containing the new conditions proposed by the insurer will have been signed by you or by the new insured.

Suspension of contract

If you sell your vehicle and want to transfer the insurance to another car, but have not yet purchased, you can ask your insurer to temporarily suspend the contract.

The part of your contribution corresponding to the non-insurance period will be charged against the contribution due as new coverage.

You must declare the sale of your vehicle to your insurer by registered letter or by a electronic registered mail.

You can use a template:

Terminate insurance following the sale of his vehicle

Your mail should include the following:

  • Contact Information
  • Insurance Contract Number
  • Date of sale
  • Make of vehicle and registration number
  • Expression of your willingness to suspend the contract and the desired duration of suspension

You must attach a photocopy of the vehicle transfer form to your mail cerfa no. 15776 (keep the original).

The insurance contract will be suspended from midnight on the night of the sale.

It will come back to life on the new vehicle once you have signed the addendum containing the new insurance conditions proposed by the insurer.