diff --git a/connector-java/src/main/java/io/zeebe/hazelcast/connect/java/ZeebeHazelcast.java b/connector-java/src/main/java/io/zeebe/hazelcast/connect/java/ZeebeHazelcast.java
index 4f74fcf..9878afe 100644
--- a/connector-java/src/main/java/io/zeebe/hazelcast/connect/java/ZeebeHazelcast.java
+++ b/connector-java/src/main/java/io/zeebe/hazelcast/connect/java/ZeebeHazelcast.java
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package io.zeebe.hazelcast.connect.java;
 
 import com.google.protobuf.InvalidProtocolBufferException;
+import com.hazelcast.client.HazelcastClientNotActiveException;
 import com.hazelcast.core.HazelcastInstance;
 import com.hazelcast.ringbuffer.Ringbuffer;
 import com.hazelcast.ringbuffer.StaleSequenceException;
@@ -76,6 +77,10 @@ private void start() {
     future = executorService.submit(this::readFromBuffer);
   }
 
+  public boolean isClosed() {
+    return isClosed;
+  }
+
   /** Stop reading from the ringbuffer. */
   @Override
   public void close() throws Exception {
@@ -146,6 +151,15 @@ private void readNext() {
 
       sequence = headSequence;
 
+    } catch (HazelcastClientNotActiveException e) {
+      LOGGER.warn("Lost connection to the Hazelcast server", e);
+
+      try {
+        close();
+      } catch (Exception closingFailure) {
+        LOGGER.debug("Failure while closing the client", closingFailure);
+      }
+
     } catch (InterruptedException e) {
       LOGGER.debug("Interrupted while reading from ring-buffer with sequence '{}'", sequence);
       throw new RuntimeException("Interrupted while reading from ring-buffer", e);
diff --git a/connector-java/src/test/java/io/zeebe/hazelcast/ZeebeHazelcastClientTest.java b/connector-java/src/test/java/io/zeebe/hazelcast/ZeebeHazelcastClientTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1fdae15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/connector-java/src/test/java/io/zeebe/hazelcast/ZeebeHazelcastClientTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+package io.zeebe.hazelcast;
+
+import com.hazelcast.client.HazelcastClient;
+import com.hazelcast.client.config.ClientConfig;
+import com.hazelcast.config.Config;
+import com.hazelcast.core.Hazelcast;
+import com.hazelcast.core.HazelcastInstance;
+import io.zeebe.hazelcast.connect.java.ZeebeHazelcast;
+import io.zeebe.hazelcast.exporter.ExporterConfiguration;
+import org.awaitility.Awaitility;
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import java.time.Duration;
+
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+
+public class ZeebeHazelcastClientTest {
+
+  private static final ExporterConfiguration CONFIGURATION = new ExporterConfiguration();
+  private static final Duration CONNECTION_TIMEOUT = Duration.ofSeconds(5);
+
+  private ZeebeHazelcast zeebeHazelcast;
+
+  private HazelcastInstance hzInstance;
+  private HazelcastInstance hzClient;
+
+  @Before
+  public void init() {
+    final Config config = new Config();
+    config.getNetworkConfig().setPort(5702);
+    hzInstance = Hazelcast.newHazelcastInstance(config);
+
+    final ClientConfig clientConfig = new ClientConfig();
+
+    final var connectionRetryConfig =
+        clientConfig.getConnectionStrategyConfig().getConnectionRetryConfig();
+    connectionRetryConfig.setClusterConnectTimeoutMillis(CONNECTION_TIMEOUT.toMillis());
+
+    clientConfig.getNetworkConfig().addAddress("127.0.0.1:5702");
+    hzClient = HazelcastClient.newHazelcastClient(clientConfig);
+  }
+
+  @After
+  public void cleanUp() throws Exception {
+    zeebeHazelcast.close();
+    hzClient.shutdown();
+    hzInstance.shutdown();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldCloseIfHazelcastIsUnavailable() {
+    // given
+    zeebeHazelcast = ZeebeHazelcast.newBuilder(hzClient).build();
+
+    // when
+    hzInstance.shutdown();
+
+    // then
+    Awaitility.await()
+        .atMost(CONNECTION_TIMEOUT.multipliedBy(2))
+        .untilAsserted(() -> assertThat(zeebeHazelcast.isClosed()).isTrue());
+  }
+}