Limitation of insurance claims: protect your entitlement in time

1. Identify the right you want to preserve

Write down who must perform, for whom and on what basis. Payment under your policy differs from damages against a liable third party. Legal assistance entitlements and periodic benefits may raise their own questions. Give each entitlement a separate entry. A letter to an intermediary is not necessarily the same action as claiming against the insurer. Check the correct recipient and whether that person legally represents another.

2. Gather facts about when payment was due and your knowledge

For insurance benefits Kifid applies the starting point of three years from the day after awareness that the claim is due. This requires factual assessment: when did the claim exist and when did you know? Keep messages showing your knowledge and circumstances then. A later report does not automatically mean you could only claim then. In legal expenses matters the need for assistance may have been clear earlier. A blanket calculation from every damage date is therefore unreliable.

3. Examine previous claims and refusals

For the payment claim under article 7:942(2) BW, written notification asserting entitlement to payment interrupts limitation. A new three-year period begins at the start of the day after the insurer acknowledges the claim or unequivocally communicates its refusal. Collect claims, refusals and receipt evidence chronologically. A general enquiry or automatic file number does not prove a sufficiently clear payment claim. Check content, proper recipient and reach; claims against an intermediary or liable third party may follow another regime.

4. Have the appropriate interruption assessed

Interruption is a legal act preventing a running limitation period from expiring. Do not blindly use a template for another claim. Identify which claim to preserve, who must receive the letter and required wording and delivery method. Keep the final sent version and receipt evidence. Where multiple insurers or entitlements exist, one letter need not cover everything. Discuss the next date to monitor too. Sending a letter does not replace checking its content and recipient.

Liability insurance has a special rule in article 7:942(3) BW: each negotiation between the insurer and the person entitled to payment or the injured party interrupts limitation. Not every practical contact is a negotiation. The new three-year period starts the day after acknowledgement or after the insurer unequivocally communicates ending negotiations to its negotiating counterpart and, if different, the person entitled to payment. Have communications to every relevant person assessed. This special rule is no reason to rely only on ongoing conversation under another type of insurance.

5. Keep complaint and other deadlines separate

Kifid’s complaint deadline is not civil limitation. Kifid applies admission rules concerning the internal complaint and final position, with further provisions and exceptions in its rules. Reporting to the AFM likewise does not generally interrupt every damages claim. A letter may also state a policy response date requiring assessment. Keep separate deadlines and responsible people in a diary. A well-written complaint may still omit another necessary action to preserve rights.

6. Respond to a limitation defence

Ask which starting point and period the insurer uses. Compare your timeline and earlier claims. Explain specifically why its starting point, your knowledge or treatment of an earlier letter is wrong. Saying only that limitation feels unfair does not reveal the legal issue. Keep the refusal itself. A lawyer can assess interruption, special rules and other circumstances. Do not start proceedings without advice merely because you think every procedure has the same effect.

7. Fictional example: earlier awareness of needing legal help

Suppose an insured person disputes with a contractor, requests assistance in writing and receives a refusal. Years later a technical report strengthens the merits. He reports the case again. New evidence does not automatically answer when the insurance claim became due or the effect of the earlier refusal. His lawyer needs both notifications, old decision and transmission records. This fictional example predicts no limitation outcome. New evidence about the main case and preserving insurance rights are different issues.

Consider also this fictional timeline for an ordinary payment claim under paragraph 2: the insurer receives a clear written claim on 10 March 2026 and unequivocally communicates refusal on 20 April 2026. The new three-year period starts on 21 April 2026. Schedule an appropriate protective step well before possible expiry. The final day also depends on actual communication, receipt and later events; this is not a personal deadline calculation.

8. Checklist for prompt assessment

State immediately that you fear limitation and provide every possible date. Request assessment per entitlement, necessary protective action and new diary entry. Record who is responsible for sending and receipt evidence. Do not wait for perfect damage calculations before raising the deadline issue.

• Policy, conditions and description of each entitlement.
• Event, first knowledge and records of when payment was due.
• All notifications, claims, acknowledgements and refusals.
• Delivery and receipt evidence for earlier letters.
• Complaint decisions, procedural documents and known final dates.