Insurance Non renewal

by Guest » Mon Oct 27, 2008 09:08 am
Guest

Non-renewal of an insurance policy simply means not continuing with an existing policy after the expiry of its term. Any insurance policy may be governed by the state laws. If an insurance company chooses not to renew a certain policy, it has to follow certain procedures.

Prevent insurance non renewal

There are few chances that your homeowners insurance policy will be cancelled by the insurance company. But if your insurance company chooses not to renew your home owners policy they must provide notice for a certain number of days and also explain why they have chosen not to renew your policy. If you have done something that adds a potential safety hazard on your property and that would invite a risk on the insurance company, the company may be allowed to cancel your insurance policy. Insurance companies usually also deny claim because the amount is mostly big.

The kind of home you buy and the kind of lifestyle you follow may affect your homeowners insurance policy. But if you file too many insurance claims it may result in non-renewal. If it is a house you are buying, make sure you are completely aware of the history of the house. If the house you are buying has a history of several claims, you may find it difficult or even impossible to find a suitable home insurance policy.

You may even raise your deductibles. By doing this you can reduce the amount of premiums that you pay and more importantly it will also reduce the risk of non-renewal when filing a claim.

Auto insurance policy holders must maintain a good record with the insurance providers. It is your responsibility to keep your payments up-to-date. However, lapses may occur sometimes. If your insurance provider decides that you are no longer worth the coverage, he can simply choose non-renewal of your insurance policy. If you have had poor driving records or have made abundant claims, you may be adding to the reasons behind why your insurance company would choose not to renew your insurance policy. If this does happen, the company is supposed to let you know a month in advance about its decision of non-renewal of your auto insurance.

Auto insurance cancellation is a more serious issue and your policy may get cancelled due to any violation in terms of the agreement you have with the insurance company. Most of the auto insurance companies reserve the right to cancel a policy with itself, be it for driving under influence of alcohol or late payment or any other fraud. If you want to avoid cancellation of your auto insurance policy, you may set up an automatic payment system. You can use online banking services to be able to use the automatic payment system.

Cancellation and non-renewal of a policy

A policy gets cancelled under 2 circumstances:
  1. Failure to pay premiums or
  2. Commit fraud or make inaccurate application

An insurance company cannot cancel any policy that has been active for more than 60 days. But the only exceptions to his rule are your failure to pay timely premiums and any fraudulent activity or misrepresentation of facts when applying for insurance. If your policy gets canceled, you may have to be at risk of paying a higher insurance rate in the future.

Either you or your insurance company may decide not to renew a certain policy after expiry. A company may decide not to renew a policy if they want to drop that line of insurance or maybe because the company has decided to write fewer policies in your location. However, if your insurance company refuses to renew your policy you will not necessarily have to pay higher premium at a different company.

4 tips on what information you need in case of non-renewal

  1. Make yourself heard: Immediately call your state insurance department if your insurer refuses to renew your policy. Laws may vary from one state to another, but you may still get a hearing. In case you think your insurer has not been fair, you may lodge a complaint with the insurance department.

  2. Check the discounts: Check if your insurance company had offered any discounts. Some insurance companies may offer certain percentage of discount to those who buy both auto and home insurance from them.

  3. Do not panic: If and when your insurance company refuses to renew your policy do not panic. Some other insurance company will insure you as there are lots of them competing for new customers. You may negotiate a good deal with them or even get an independent insurance agent to get you a good deal.

  4. Get your rights: If you already have a sustained damage, then there is an open claim. The insurance company cannot simply cancel your policy. State laws vary from one state to another. In Florida any company that wants to issue non-renewal, will have to wait 90 days after the repairs are completed before issuing the letter.

Knowing what to do when your insurance company wants to cancel your policy or decides not to renew your policy always helps. You must be aware of your rights so that you can have a fair judgment in such a case or when you file a claim. Non-renewal can be opted both by the insurer and the insured. But both have certain procedures to follow without which the entire process will be unjustified.

Hi..
How do you differ between termination of an insurance policy and its non-renewal? Also, would like to know if there's any legal for me to drive without insurance under such circumstances. Plasticmind

Total Comments: 18

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 02:52 pm Post Subject:

First, read my sig line.

Second, obtain insurance through another carrier (and you may need to correct any problems on your end).

Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 06:51 am Post Subject: Home Owner Nonrenewal

I have had this Home Owner since 1959. I have had 3 claims do to the weather. I have to find another Home Owner Insurance now.

Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 06:21 pm Post Subject: non- renewal

All State sent me a letter of non-renewal, because I had 2 wind and hail claims from them on 2 consecutive year. What shall I do next. I'm a new home owner, purchased a home in 2009, which is a HUD home. On their policy, it's stated that renewal is guaranteed no matter how many claims a client had! I don't control mother nature, those weather occurence was not my fault..

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 04:47 pm Post Subject: non renewal notice

What is the percentage of increase in premium that the insurance company must give to insured notice?

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 04:58 pm Post Subject:

There is no requirement to do so. You can figure out how much your auto insurance premium is being increased on your own.

Health insurance is becoming a different issue. Many states have already adopted a provision in Obamacare that requires the amount of future health insurance premium increases to be stated as both $$ and %% compared to the previous year. That won't stop the increase from happening.

Obamacare will cause the cost of health insurance to rise, not go down as he promised. That's because Obama is a socialist who knows nothing about insurance or capitalism other than he believes both are evil and should be eliminated.

Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:30 pm Post Subject: Nonrenewal after fire loss

I have an open claim with Travelers in NY, I sustained a loss due to fire that occured in front part of house that was occupied by recent tenants. I retained the rear apartment for my residence. Five days after filing claim, Travelers sent a non renewal letter stating due to omission of facts and owner vacating premises we are not renewing your policy effective April 18th 2013. My policy period runs from May 19th to following May 19th. Can they do this? One year prior to loss I phoned Travelers in response to letter asking of property disposition and mailing address change. I explained I am not always there and due to job am out of town for a few days at a time but that it is still my primary residence and all my mail goes to where it will be picked up at a mailbox everyday. They continued to cash my insurance premiums for 11 months and as soon as I had a loss and filed claim they want to drop me and are contesting validity of said claim I hired a public adjuster to deal with them but are not sure of my rights regarding non renewal since reasons stated are in error as I did not vacate my property. I feel I will have to hire an attorney but do not want to do that until it becomes necessary.

Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 01:52 am Post Subject:

Lisa, you should ask this question by starting a new topic, to get a better response. I would talk to your agent first, to see if you can fix it by clearing up the issue of your occupancy. Here is a resource for you:

http://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/hmonindx.htm

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