{"id":5303,"date":"2026-10-13T09:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T07:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/blog\/votre-avis-decheance-arrive-les-deux-mois-qui-comptent\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T11:46:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T09:46:12","slug":"votre-avis-decheance-arrive-les-deux-mois-qui-comptent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/blog\/votre-avis-decheance-arrive-les-deux-mois-qui-comptent\/","title":{"rendered":"Your payment notice is arriving: the two months that matter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In summary\u2026<\/h2>\n

The renewal notice is the only document every insured person receives each year, and the only one no one ever opens. It doesn't announce a withdrawal: it opens the only window of the year<\/b> where a contract is terminated, renegotiated or adjusted.<\/p>\n

The notice period is a maximum of two months, but its starting point is not the expiry date: it is the date of sending the notice<\/b>. A notice sent late reopens the deadline; a notice never sent makes it permanent.<\/p>\n

The issue isn't the price, it's the gap between what the contract guarantees and what your situation has become since then. A premium that decreases because a guarantee has disappeared is a deferred claim.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

October is the month when renewal notices are sent out en masse, as most contracts renew on January 1st. They are filed away unread: the payment is monthly, it requires no action, so the document appears to require no action at all. It's the opposite\u2014it triggers a grace period, and once this period has passed, the contract restarts for twelve months with its current capital and exclusions.<\/p>\n

1. What the payment due notice triggers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A legal document, not an accounting document<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To terminate an automatic renewal, you must cancel the contract before its expiry date, giving no more than two months' notice. This notice period applies to everyone; what changes is what you have available. outside<\/b> from this window. Individuals have other exit options, professionals have none: for multi-risk business insurance, fleet insurance, operating liability insurance, this is the only opportunity of the year.<\/p>\n

Specifically.<\/strong> If you are unhappy with your employment contract in March, you keep it until the next expiry date: there is no right to leave mid-year. Hence the rule \u2014 The month of the renewal notice is the month in which you work on your insurance<\/b>.<\/p>\n

2. Two months, but from what date?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The starting point is the date the notice was sent.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Chatel law requires insurers to indicate, with the renewal notice, the deadline for cancellation, and this obligation is subject to a penalty: if the notice is sent less than fifteen days before this date, or after, an additional period begins, calculated from the date of cancellation. date of sending<\/b>. And if the notice was never sent, cancellation remains possible at any time after renewal, without penalty.<\/p>\n

Specifically.<\/strong> Keep the envelope: a notice dated October 20th but mailed on November 12th does not have the same legal effect. Many cases considered "out of time" are not actually late. The only date that matters is the date of the stamp.<\/b>.<\/p>\n

For the technician.<\/strong> Article L. 113-12 of the Insurance Code: termination upon expiry of a period of one year, open to the insured as well as the insurer, notice period not to exceed two months \u2014 the contract may shorten it, never lengthen it.<\/p>\n

Article L. 113-15-1, stemming from Law No. 2005-67 of January 28, 2005, known as the Chatel Law: This article provides information on the deadline for termination, an additional period deducted from the date of sending in the event of late notice, and termination at any time if no information is provided. It applies to automatically renewing contracts for individuals not engaged in professional activity; for professional contracts, the contractual stipulation becomes decisive.<\/p>\n

3. After one year, individuals are no longer dependent on the deadline<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Early termination of the contract: what it covers, what it leaves out<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For some of the contracts of individuals \u2014 automobile, home, affinity contracts, supplementary health insurance \u2014 cancellation is open at any time after the first year, with effect one month after notification.<\/p>\n

This option does not extend to professional contracts. A tradesperson can change their home insurance in April; not their business multi-risk insurance. The confusion between the two systems is causing work that should have been done in October to be postponed until spring.<\/p>\n

For the technician.<\/strong> Article L. 113-15-2 of the French Insurance Code, resulting from Law No. 2014-344 of March 17, 2014, known as the Hamon Law: termination without fees or penalties after one year, effective one month after notification; formalities are the responsibility of the new insurer in the event of substitution of a mandatory contract. Scope limited to natural persons not engaged in professional activity.<\/p>\n

4. What has changed at your end, but not in the contract<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Capital, workforce, turnover, declared activities<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A contract is a snapshot of the risk at the time of signing. Anything that has changed since then without being declared creates a discrepancy that only becomes apparent when a claim is filed. Four key areas account for this discrepancy: the value of the assets and contents, the number of employees, the declared revenue, and the activities carried out. A new, undeclared activity is not just underinsured; it is uninsured. And a fixed capital value compared to a doubled inventory constitutes underinsurance: the compensation is reduced accordingly.<\/p>\n

For the technician.<\/strong> Underinsurance: Article L. 121-5 of the Insurance Code \u2014 the insured remains his own insurer for the excess value, hence the proportional rule of capital, regardless of any fault.<\/p>\n

Declaration of risk: Article L. 113-2 for new circumstances aggravating the risk during the contract, L. 113-4 for the consequences available to the insurer, L. 113-9 for the proportional reduction of compensation in the event of an unintentional inaccurate declaration, L. 113-8 for nullity in the event of a false declaration.<\/p>\n

5. The increase that monthly billing makes invisible<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Four euros a month goes unnoticed; eight years do.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The annual increase is painless by design: deducted in twelve installments, from amounts that don't trigger any alarms, and linked to an indexation clause accepted at the time of subscription. Accumulated over a decade, it produces a difference that no one would have approved all at once.<\/p>\n

The correct approach is therefore not to compare the premium to last year's \u2013 the difference will always seem acceptable \u2013 but to the subscription premium, with the capital amount adjusted accordingly. A premium increase of 40%, with the capital remaining unchanged: the issue is no longer one of pricing, but of structure.<\/p>\n