What Happens if Your Homeowners Insurance Drops You?
If you recently discovered your homeowners insurance policy has been cancelled or not renewed, it can come as a true shock and can bring about feelings of uncertainty. You’ll want to react to this news as soon as possible to avoid any issues should an unforeseen event occur which affects your home or its contents while being uninsured. In this post, we’ll go over why an insurance company may choose to drop you, what you can do if it happens, and how to best handle the situation to secure a new homeowners insurance policy as soon as possible. Should you have any immediate questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Reasons for Cancellation or Non-Renewal
Insurance companies can decide to drop a policyholder for several reasons. Let’s explore some of those reasons below:
Risk Assessment Changes: If there’s new information presented to insurers regarding the overall risk of your property, it could place them at a higher risk when it comes to insuring you. This could include everything from weather-related findings (your home is now considered to be in a flood-zone), to severe weather changes over the past decade in your region. Your insurer may choose to not renew your homeowners insurance policy with this newfound information as the risk increases.
Multiple Claims: If you happen to file multiple claims within a shorter period of time, the insurer may look at you as a higher risk and flag your profile. This in turn may lead to outright cancellation or non-renewal.
Non-Payment of Premiums: If you don’t pay your homeowners insurance premiums, there will be a point at which the insurer will drop your coverage. There’s typically a grace period of sorts with most insurers, but you’ll always want to check the specifics of said grace period to ensure you’ll remain covered should you miss a payment.
Property Condition: If your home begins to fall into a state of disrepair, making it a liability for residents and guests. Your insurer may decide it’s not worth it to insure your home until those issues are resolved.
Regulatory or Business Decisions: Sometimes there are changes which occur at the higher levels of state governments which have nothing to do with you or your home. These changes may result in your insurer exiting the state in which you reside, resulting in a loss of coverage for your home.
Immediate Steps to Take
If your homeowners insurance policy is canceled or not renewed, it’s important to act quickly:
- Review the Cancellation or Non-Renewal Notice: Insurers will generally provide a 30-day notice of cancellation or non-renewal.This notice will explain the reasons behind your policy being cancelled or non-renewed. Make sure to read this cancellation or non-renewal notice thoroughly. It may have specific details which could further explain the situation and reasoning behind your insurer’s choices.
- Contact Your Insurance Company: If you discover the reason for the cancellation is resolvable, you’ll want to contact your insurer as soon as possible. Your insurer may be able to reinstate your policy successfully and have you back on the right track.
- Shop for a New Policy: If you’re unable to solve the insurance policy cancellation, you’ll want to begin shopping for new policies immediately. Being uninsured, even for a short period of time, is a huge risk you don’t want to have to take. Compare some quotes from different insurers and check to see if there are any alternative programs for those unable to obtain homeowners insurance through standard pathways.
Long-Term Solutions
To prevent future cancellations or non-renewals, consider the following tips:
Maintain Your Home: Proactively maintaining your home can help prevent or reduce the number of claims and shows your insurer you’re a responsible homeowner.
Manage Risks Wisely: Frequent claims can make you a higher risk to insurers. Prior to filing a homeowners insurance claim, you’ll want to weigh whether or not it’s truly necessary.
Improve Home Safety: Home safety enhancements such as storm-proof shutters, reinforced roofing, and modernized plumbing and electrical systems may greatly reduce your home’s overall risk profile.
Communicate with Your Insurer: If you do happen to make significant changes to your property or modify something which may increase the level of risk for your insurer, you’ll want to understand how it may affect your coverage. By contacting your insurer, you’ll be able to have a full understanding of how changes or modifications may affect your homeowners insurance policy.
Contact Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance Today if Your Homeowners Insurance Has Dropped You
Receiving notice your homeowners insurance is being dropped can be unsettling and jarring to say the least. In certain scenarios it may be easily resolved. In other scenarios, it may require diligent research and searching for a new insurer who is willing and able to provide the right level of coverage for your property. As a reminder, it’s important to maintain continuous coverage as best you can, so as to avoid any complications with a lack of coverage.
If you’ve recently received notice your homeowners insurance coverage has been dropped, you’ll want to contact us at Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance so we can explore how we may be able to help you. We look forward to hearing from you soon and we’re eager to begin working on resolving this issue for you.