How to Manage Your Home Insurance Renewal

Most home insurance policies stay in effect for one year. A few weeks before the policy period ends, your insurer will let you know that your policy renewal date is approaching. At that time, you have the option to renew your policy or switch to a new insurance company and cancel your existing policy.^[1]

Here’s what you should know about home insurance renewal, including how to renew your home insurance, get coverage after non-renewal, and lower your home insurance premium before your policy renews.

How to renew your home insurance policy

Renewing your home insurance policy is usually a simple process. Here are the steps you should follow to renew your homeowners insurance.

Review your coverage 

Before you renew your homeowners insurance policy, it’s a good idea to review your coverage. You might need to adjust your coverage limits or drop coverages you no longer need. You’ll also have the opportunity to change your deductible.

Get quotes from other insurers 

If your home insurance premium is increasing for the new policy term, your insurer will let you know. Even if your rate isn’t going up, you should get quotes from a few other insurance companies. If you find a different company offering you a lower rate, you might consider switching instead of renewing with your current insurer.^[2]

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Contact your insurance company 

If you decide to renew your current policy, contact your insurance company or insurance agent. Depending on your company’s requirements, you may have to submit a formal request to renew in writing. Other policies renew automatically, but you’ll need to notify your insurer if you want to make any changes to your coverage or deductibles.

What to consider when renewing your home insurance policy

If you’re thinking about renewing your home insurance, you should consider a few important factors. The following factors can affect the amount of coverage or type of coverage you need for adequate protection:

• Recent renovations: If you’ve recently renovated your home, you might benefit from higher coverage limits. For example, if you finished your basement and converted it into a home gym, you might want higher liability limits or personal property coverage limits.

• New valuable items: The personal property portion of your home insurance policy provides limited coverage for valuable items. If you’ve purchased new valuables within the last year, such as fine art or jewelry, you should consider scheduling them or adding a valuable items endorsement to get the right amount of coverage.

• Safety upgrades: You can sometimes get a discount on home insurance if you have certain safety features in your home, like a burglar alarm or fire alarm system. Tell your insurer about any safety upgrades you’ve made to see if you qualify for a lower rate.

• Building costs and inflation: Some home insurance companies automatically adjust your coverage limits to match the rate of inflation or increased building costs. But you should double-check with your insurance company in case you need to raise your policy limits for dwelling insurance.

Benefits of renewing your home insurance

Renewing your home insurance offers you several benefits, including:

• Ensures continuous coverage so your home and its contents are protected no matter what occurs

• Protects your savings by providing a safeguard against future losses from unexpected perils

• Keeps you up-to-date on the value of your home. Each renewal requires a revaluation of your property and provides you a glimpse of what your home is worth.

• Demonstrates your commitment to your home, which makes it more appealing to would-be buyers. The insurance policy itself isn’t transferable, but carrying a home insurance policy lets would-be buyers know you were committed to protecting your home when you owned it.

Common mistakes to avoid during renewal

Renewing your home insurance policy requires some research to ensure the policy still makes sense for you. As you begin looking at your policy options, look out for these common mistakes:

• Ignoring policy updates and exclusions: The structure of your policy shifts from one renewal to the next, and things besides the price can change. Look out for policy update shifts or new exclusions that could stop your policy from meeting your needs.

• Overlooking better offers: While your current policy may have been the best choice for you last year, don’t assume that’s still the case. Comparing several policy options using a price-comparison platform can help you find the best policy for you.

• Failing to update personal information: Your life is ever-changing, and your insurance policy should keep an accurate record of that. If you choose to renew your home insurance policy, make sure you review and update your personal information. It’ll save you needless headaches later.

• Waiting too long to start the process: Don’t put off your policy renewal until the last minute. It could lead you to make a suboptimal decision because you didn’t have as much time as you wanted.

5 reasons your home insurance company may not renew your policy

If you receive a notice of non-renewal from your insurance company, you might wonder why. Your insurer may choose not to renew the policy for several common reasons — some of which are out of your control.

If you receive a non-renewal notice, you need to find a different home insurance company and purchase a new policy.

1. Risk increased in your area

Insurance companies assume a significant amount of risk when agreeing to insure your home. If your area experiences an uptick in extreme weather events, like hurricanes, or higher rates of property theft, your insurance company might decide that it’s too risky to continue insuring your house. In this case, your insurer would submit a notice of non-renewal.

2. You made too many late payments

Your homeowners insurance company agrees to provide coverage in exchange for a monthly or annual premium. If you make too many late payments, your insurance company may not renew your policy. From the insurer’s perspective, making late payments suggests that you might stop making the payments altogether, which would eventually lead to cancellation.

3. You filed too many claims

Your claim history is one of the factors that insurance companies look at to determine coverage eligibility and set home insurance premiums. If you’ve filed too many claims over the last several years — even small claims — your insurance company might not want to renew your policy. 

This can happen even if you weren’t directly responsible for the claims, like in the case of a natural disaster.

4. Your insurer stopped offering coverage

Your home insurance company could decide to stop selling home insurance in your area, or it could close its home insurance business altogether. For example, Progressive recently announced that it would stop offering home insurance in Florida due to the effect of climate change in the state and will begin sending non-renewals in May 2024.

5. Your home’s value increased too much

If your home’s value has increased above a certain amount, your home insurance company could refuse to renew your policy for the next year. Some home insurance companies only insure homes up to a certain value. In that situation, you may need to find an insurer specializing in high-value homes to get additional coverage.

How to get home insurance after non-renewal

If you receive a written notice of non-renewal from your home insurance company, you must look for another policy. States don’t require home insurance, but mortgage lenders typically do.

Here are the steps you should follow to find insurance after non-renewal:

1. Find out the reason for non-renewal. Before you start looking for a new policy, you should find out the specific reason why the insurer chose not to renew your policy. If the reason relates to living in a high-risk area or filing too many claims in the past, you might have trouble finding another insurer to write you a policy. In that case, you can look into getting coverage through your state’s Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan.

2. Shop around. Spend some time researching insurance companies in your area. Compare your top choices based on features like coverage options, discounts, financial strength, and customer satisfaction. Then, get quotes for the type and amount of insurance coverage you need from multiple companies to see which insurer can offer you the lowest rate.

3. Purchase a new policy. Once you’ve chosen an insurer, the final step is to purchase your new policy. The effective date of your new policy should overlap for a few days with your old policy to make sure you avoid gaps in your coverage. Keep your new insurance documents handy in case you need to file a claim. You should also share your new policy information with your mortgage company.

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How to lower your home insurance premiums

When it’s time to renew your home insurance policy, you can potentially lower your premium in a few different ways:^[3]

• 

  Pay your premium in full

  Most home insurance companies will give you a small discount if you pay your annual premium up front in a lump sum.

• 

  Install safety devices

  Consider installing safety devices in your home, like a self-monitored security system, to save money on your home insurance policy.

• 

  Raise your deductible

  Choosing a higher deductible for dwelling insurance and personal property insurance will lower your premium.

• 

  Bundle your policies

  You can usually get a significant discount on your premium if you bundle home insurance with other insurance products, like auto insurance or life insurance.

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