Regretting a personal insurance policy signed for over a year? You can cancel it during the cooling-off period and get most of your premium back

All personal insurance policies with a term longer than one year include a cooling-off period. For policies bought through banks, this period starts 15 days after you receive the policy document, and cancelling during this time incurs a maximum administrative fee of 10 yuan. After this window closes, you’ll only receive the portion of your premium that the policy allows you to reclaim, which is usually far less than what you originally paid. Insurers often make follow-up calls to check if you fully understand the terms — be honest if you’re still unclear.

Cost

There’s no cost involved. A quick call to the insurer’s customer service line or a short visit to a branch takes just a few minutes. The real challenge is staying calm after signing and taking the time to read through the contract within 15 days.

Benefit

Regulations require all personal insurance policies with a term over a year to clearly state the start date and length of the cooling-off period, as well as the rights policyholders have during this time. The cooling-off period for long-term health insurance must be at least 15 days. For all such policies sold via banks, the contract explicitly sets this period to 15 days, calculated from the natural calendar days after you receive and sign for the policy document. The policy cover must also carry this notice: “You have the right to cancel this policy in full (minus a maximum administrative fee of 10 yuan) within 15 days of receiving it. Cancelling after this period will result in financial losses.” Even after the cooling-off period ends, you can still terminate the contract at any time, and the insurer must refund the policy’s cash value — the portion of your premium that can be reclaimed — within 30 days as per contract terms. Financial regulators note that cancelling long-term personal insurance after the cooling-off period typically results in cash value payouts that are lower than the total premiums paid. Insurers must also reach out to new policyholders of such plans during the cooling-off period to confirm they’re aware of the potential financial losses from cancellation and their rights under this period (applicable nationwide since 2010 and 2019).

Notes

The cooling-off period is a mandatory provision for all personal insurance policies with a term longer than one year. There’s no such requirement for one-year medical or accident insurance policies, so you’ll need to check the specific contract terms for these. For policies not bought via banks, the exact duration is defined in the contract — be sure to look up the “cooling-off period” clause as soon as you get the policy. Savings and dividend-paying insurance plans require higher premium payments, so making use of this period is especially worthwhile for these policies; see item 25 in this section for more details on non-savings plans. We rate the benefit as “moderate” because the savings you can achieve are the difference between your total premiums paid and the cash value you receive, which typically ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand yuan — no official statistics exist on this figure. You are the sole beneficiary of this provision.

Sources · 6

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