You’ve Been Cancelled: State by State Guide to Mid-Term Cancellations

If you’ve lost homeowners insurance coverage, don’t worry. You are not in immediate danger of losing your home. That said, you do need to be proactive and find replacement coverage as quickly as possible. Your mortgage requires that you maintain sufficient insurance coverage so that the mortgage company wouldn’t lose everything if your house were to be damaged. In a worst-case scenario, your mortgage lender will purchase new insurance themselves and include the cost in your escrow payments. This isn’t ideal, though, for at least two reasons. First, lender-placed insurance protects your lender, not you. It won’t cover damage to personal property or living expenses if your home is rendered uninhabitable. Second, lender-placed insurance tends to be a lot more expensive than a standard policy.

It certainly can. Your insurance company will drop you if you are costing them so much that your policy is no longer profitable for them. Some states regulate the extent to which insurers are allowed to consider past claims history when calculating risk. However, the law tends to favor insurers. Your best defense against being dropped for filing too many claims is to be conservative. If you can cover the costs of a home repair on your own, it is often in your best interest to do so.

Yes, they can. All insurance companies participate in what is known as the “Comprehensive Loss and Underwriting Exchange,” a shared database of consumers’ claims history. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to hide a policy cancellation when shopping for new insurance. Still, the fact that you’ve been declined coverage by one company does not mean you won’t be able to find coverage elsewhere. Every insurance provider assesses risk differently. They also have varying levels of risk tolerance. If you’re in the market for a new insurer, your best bet is to use an online quote comparison tool like Insurify. It’s the fastest way to find the best and cheapest insurance available to you.

Having your home insurance canceled can affect your car insurance rates and coverage if you have both policies bundled with the same insurance company. It’s worth noting that, in the case of bundled coverage, having too many car insurance claims could also affect your homeowners insurance.

Regardless of what their marketing tells us, insurance companies do drop customers all the time. This is an unpleasant fact, but it doesn’t have to frighten you. You just need to know your rights.

For the most part, state laws prevent insurers from arbitrarily dropping customers. They can only do so for certain reasons, and they must give you warning and explain their rationale beforehand. You can avoid most problems by being truthful when communicating with your insurer, proactive in maintaining your property, pragmatic when filing claims, and mindful of how decisions you make will affect your risk profile.

If you’ve already received a notice of cancellation or non-renewal, don’t panic. You still have options. You can negotiate with your insurer to maintain coverage. You can use tools like Insurify to find new insurance on the open market, and you can turn to state-run FAIR plans for high-risk coverage. Even in the very worst-case scenario, you aren’t likely to lose your home, since your bank will purchase lender-placed coverage rather than invalidate your mortgage agreement.

While neighborly assertions might offer short-term comfort, knowledge is our best defense when it comes to protecting our homes and loved ones.

Insurify can help you find the best home insurance at the most affordable price. Check out our home insurance comparison tool and get started today. You could see significant savings!