Denied Insurance Due to a Criminal Record

If you fail to disclose your criminal history on the insurance application and the insurer finds out, they can cancel your insurance immediately. It will also be even more difficult for you to obtain insurance in the future. If you do not answer the questions on the insurance application truthfully, you are committing insurance fraud. Many insurance companies will not accept you if you are registered as a fraudster. You will then be listed in the CIS Foundation’s database, where your information is visible to all affiliated insurers and authorized representatives.

The insurer has no access to your criminal record and therefore knows nothing about your criminal history in advance. However, if they ask you about it when you apply for insurance, you are required to answer honestly. If you withhold information, you are committing insurance fraud. As soon as the insurance company finds out, your policy will be canceled, and you will lose your right to a payout in the event of a claim or accident. You can weigh the consequences: even with a criminal history, there’s still a chance that a standard insurance company will accept your application, depending on the offense listed on your criminal record. If you’re registered for fraud, no standard insurance company will accept you, and you’ll automatically be referred to Vereende. This comes with additional costs, such as a higher premium.

How long your criminal record remains on file depends on the type of offense. In general, a criminal record often expires after five years, and after five years you should be able to purchase insurance from a standard insurance company. However, if your offense occurred less than 8 years ago, you must still disclose it to the insurer. In this case, you could apply for a Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG) to demonstrate that your past does not pose an obstacle to obtaining insurance. The insurer can then decide for itself whether to insure you.

Has your insurance application been denied because of a criminal record? Through Alpina, you can purchase insurance from De Vereende. De Vereende is an insurance company that specializes in insuring special risks. As a result, they have a more flexible underwriting policy and, in principle, accept anyone as a policyholder. Alpina acts as an intermediary and insures you through de Vereende. This way, you can still take out insurance, even if you have a criminal record.

Would you like to discuss the options? Please feel free to contact us. We’re available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 088 – 688 37 00. You can also send us a message via chat, WhatsApp, or Messenger.

An insurer is not required to accept you. Health insurance is an exception. A health insurer is legally required to accept you for the basic health insurance plan. They cannot refuse you for this, but they can refuse you for supplemental insurance plans. If an insurer determines that you pose too great a risk, they may reject your application.

The insurer may also choose to accept an insurance policy only under certain conditions. In that case, they will impose requirements when you take out the policy. For example, because the risk of damage is considered higher or due to your medical condition. Some examples of such conditions include:

• The insurer does not cover certain risks
• The policy terms remain the same, but you will pay a higher premium
• The policy terms and the premium remain the same, but your deductible is higher
• Certain requirements apply to the right to coverage, such as those related to fire safety.

When deciding whether or not to accept an insurance application, the insurer tries to assess the level of risk in advance. They view someone with a criminal history as a greater moral risk. The assumption here is that someone with a criminal record is less likely to strictly adhere to insurance rules or pay the premium.

The risk for the insurer is therefore greater than usual. This is also the case with Vereende. They specialize in special risks, but this comes with a number of conditions. They have several requirements for taking out an insurance policy:

• You must pay three months' premiums in advance, even if you choose to pay monthly instead of quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.
• The insurance will not take effect until the premium for the first three months has been paid and they have received a signed application form.
• In most cases, you’ll need to pay a security deposit. If you’re late paying your premium, they can use this security deposit to offset the unpaid premium. If you pay your premium on time every month, you’ll get the security deposit back when the insurance policy ends.

When you’ll be able to get insurance from a regular insurance company again depends on how long your criminal record remains on file. This depends on the type of offense you committed. In general, a criminal record often expires after five years, and you should be able to purchase insurance from a regular insurance company after five years. Did your offense occur less than 8 years ago? If so, you must still disclose it to the insurer. You could then apply for a Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG) to demonstrate that your past does not pose an obstacle to obtaining insurance. The insurer can then decide for itself whether to insure you.