You can feel a personal feeling to be dropped by your home insurance company, but that’s not always for what you did. Obviously, missed payments or insurance fraud could result in the insurance policy being cancelled. But increasingly, insurers are choosing to cancel or not renew their policies for reasons beyond policyholder control, particularly in high-risk areas. In states like Florida and California, climate threats and increasing legal challenges have made it difficult for insurers to remain profitable and have led them to withdraw the entire market. Whether your compensation has been lost due to your own circumstances or simply because of where you live, Bankrate is here to help you understand your options and take the next step to protect your valuable investments.
Why your home insurance company will cancel or not renew your insurance?
There are many different reasons why home insurance companies can choose to cancel or non-renew their insurance. Some of the most common causes are:
- Non-payment: Your insurance is a legal agreement between you and your insurance company. In exchange for premiums, the insurance company agrees to cover the applicable losses. If you stop paying premiums, the insurance company will ultimately cancel the home insurance policy due to unpaid wages.
- Frequent claims: File a home insurance claim can often increase your home insurance premiums. Additionally, if you file multiple claims within the past few years, your home insurance company may cancel your policy altogether. Homeowners with long claims records are generally considered to be at high risk of getting insurance, and your insurance company may think your property is too risky to maintain their books.
- Insurance Fraud: Insurance fraud is illegal and has serious consequences. For example, if you intentionally burn your home to collect insurance payments, you are likely to be cancelled along with other potential consequences.
- Underwriting issues: Certain underwriting issues can also lead to reduced insurance. For example, if the adjustment visits your home after a claim and realizes that you are not meeting the insurance company’s underwriting guidelines, your policy may be cancelled. Maybe there were dead trees that weren’t there when the policy began, or maybe they let them in the swimming pool without notifying the insurance company. Such behavior can affect the insurance company’s decision to cover your home.
- Wide range of losses: Insurers can mostly choose where to write their policies. If a particular zip code, city, or state is prone to widespread losses (such as wildfires or hurricanes), insurance companies may stop creating policies in those areas.
Cancellation vs. Non-renewal: Is there a difference in the way my family insurance company dropped me?
Home insurers are generally restricted by rules that regulate how and when policyholders can be removed. In the case of cancellation, the requirements are often more stringent than non-renewal. This is because cancellations can occur during the active period of the policy, otherwise they can be effectively and effectively cancelled. Conversely, non-update occurs in the window between policy expiration and updates. Non-renewal is generally more permissible for carriers than cancellations, but usually includes the required notification period. Meanwhile, the insurance company must notify the non-renewal policyholder.
Cancellations are often the result of fraud, non-payment, significant changes to eligible property or other extreme circumstances. Cancellation can have a greater impact on homeowners than non-renewal for several reasons. For example, cancellations are exacerbated on the homeowner’s insurance record, as they are likely to be the result of one way or another breach of the terms of the insurance contract. They receive notifications of upcoming cancellations and are rushing to find a new policy in time. Furthermore, the causes behind cancellations can make it difficult to find new policies with other carriers.
Non-renewal is still a problem for homeowners, but not so much. Non-update can occur for a number of reasons, but in many cases it is not necessary to violate the terms of the policy. Common reasons include poor property maintenance, increased risk assessments of locations, and shifting coverage options for local airlines. Your career needs to notify you before non-renewal. Depending on the reason behind the non-update, depending on the situation, finding a replacement policy may not be that difficult.
What if homeowner coverage is removed?
If your homeowner insurance dropped you, they would have had to lift their heads to you. The exact timeline varies by state, but in general, if your insurance company plans to hide your policy, you should provide a 30-120-day notification. If the reason for the cancellation is related to non-payment or insurance fraud, the timeline will be shorter.
The first thing you do when you receive a non-update notification is to read it carefully. If the insurance company does not disclose the exact reason for the decision, contact your representative for further investigation. Maybe you accidentally missed your payment or you had an error in the document that you could revise.
If you are unable to correct the situation over the phone and your insurance policy is due to be cancelled, here are some tips to get homeowner insurance after deletion:
- Buy a new policy: Start shopping for new home insurance as soon as possible. Get quotes from several different insurance companies to find the most affordable policy for your situation.
- Reduce risk: According to Bankrate’s Extreme Weather Survey, 57% of U.S. homeowners are taking action to mitigate the economic impact of extreme weather damage. If your policy is cancelled due to a risk-related issue, please check if you can address them. For example, if your home is in a high-risk hurricane area, consider installing stormproof windows and hurricane shutters, or replacing your current roof with a metal roof.
- Find out what line insurance companies are surplus: Some homeowners have struggled to get coverage approval due to factors out of control. In this case, we recommend considering an insurance company with a surplus line. Although completely legal, these airlines are not found in the usual insurance regulations of certain states, as they are not licensed in the state they operate. For this reason, surplus line insurance companies may be open by writing policies for high-risk properties. However, you can usually expect to pay a higher than average premium.
- Improve the condition of your home: In some cases, the policy may be removed due to the condition of your home. This includes poor roofing or other structural issues. In such cases, we may be able to address the issue that canceled the policy and revive it. If you can’t revive your policy, the improved terms of your home should help reduce the likelihood that you will be denied by the new insurance company.
Being dropped by your insurance company is not a pleasant experience, but you are not alone either. We scrutinized the online forums to learn what the first-hand experiences of others were, and the suggestions they received.
*The quotes and quotes contained on this page have been verified by our editorial team and are accurate as of the date of posting. Outlinked Content may contain opinions or opinions that do not reflect the views or opinions of the Bank.
State cancellation laws for household insurance
In many states, insurance companies must provide some kind of notice before proceeding with cancelling their insurance policies. However, every state has its own laws regarding the cancellation and non-renewal of home insurance.
If you have any questions about your state’s home insurance cancellation laws, you can notify your state’s department of insurance using the contact information below.
What is a fair plan?
If you are struggling to get legacy home insurance approval, you can consider fair access to your insurance requirements (fair) plan. Fair Planning is a last resort option for homeowners who have exhausted other options in the standard home insurance market. These plans allow some homeowners to receive compensation if they are repeatedly denied. In fact, to qualify for a fair planning policy, you will need to prove that you have been rejected at least twice in the private market. That said, qualification guidelines vary by state.
A Fair Plan is a state-managed program funded by a licensed private insurance provider in a particular state. Unlike standard home insurance, which receives coverage from one company, a fair plan is a shared market plan in which several companies insured. With home insurance through fair planning, multiple insurance companies offer your coverage. In that respect it limits the risks a single insurer must undertake. If you charge, the company guarantees you to pay a portion of each loss.
The type and amount of coverage you get from a fair plan will vary from state to state. However, these policies typically offer less protection than regular home insurance and are often more expensive.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, all fair plans include compensation for fires, vandalism, riots and storms. Some fair plans include personal liability insurance, but it depends on the state.
As of 2025, eligible homeowners in 34 states and Washington, DC can seek compensation through a fair plan.
When should you consider creating a fair plan?
Once you receive a notification that the homeowner’s insurance company has dropped you, you should start shopping for new insurance. If you are rejected by more than one home insurance company, it is probably a good idea to look into a fair plan. In most states, evidence of denied coverage by at least two insurers is required before applying for a fair plan.
If your home insurance is cancelled, it is important to act promptly, whether you get a fair plan or another standard home insurance policy. Once your insurance policy expires, there is no home insurance coverage. Alternatively, if you have a mortgage in your home, your financial lender may implement forced location insurance. This is expensive and hardly covers it.
If you lose your insurance policy, it can be more difficult to obtain another household policy in the future, and the fees can be more expensive. Additionally, if anything happens to your home or property during its lapse, you will be liable for damages from your pocket. You can avoid expiration of coverage by purchasing a new home insurance policy that begins one or two days before the old policy ends.
