Insurers will soon no longer be allowed to exclude suicide or suicide attempts from travel cancellation and travel assistance insurance.
In Belgium, nearly 2,000 people die by suicide every year. Figures for suicide attempts are less precise, but estimates range from 22,000 to 44,000 per year.
The House Committee on Economy approved a bill to this effect by MP Els Van Hoof (CD&V) in first reading at the end of April, and the second reading is expected to follow on Wednesday.
Currently, suicide and suicide attempts are not covered in virtually all travel insurance policies.
Consequently, people who are unable to travel due to a suicide attempt, or who require repatriation following a suicide attempt abroad, usually have no right to insurance coverage, whereas this is the case in the event of a car accident, for example.
Van Hoof, who submitted a bill to prohibit insurers from excluding suicide (attempts) in travel cancellation and travel assistance insurance, called it "stigmatising."
"Someone who is depressed should not be pointed at," she added.
The bill also covers family members of people who have died by suicide or have made an attempt and wish to cancel their trip or require assistance for that reason.
Van Hoof's bill already received the green light in the first reading at the end of April and will pass in the second reading before the House Committee on Economy on Wednesday. Subsequently, the plenary session must also give its approval.
The text builds on an earlier law by Van Hoof from 2024, which introduced a ban on the exclusion of medical costs resulting from suicide attempts from hospitalisation insurance policies.
Anyone with questions about suicide can contact the Suicide Helpline on the free number 1813 and on the website www.zelfmoord1813.be.
