Southern Fidelity, which insures homes north of Orlando, is not renewing 19,600 homeowner policies over the next 14 months in order to avoid a “hazardous financial condition,” according to its filing. The company also insures homes in 12 other states.Īll three Florida insurers cite the same reason for the cancellations. In its filing to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation dated May 6, Universal states it is canceling 13,294 policies out of its total 57,000 Florida policies due to yearly losses of $4.1 million in 2019 and $22.5 million in 2020. The other two carriers shedding customers before stormy weather arrives are Southern Fidelity Insurance Company and Gulfstream Property and Casualty Insurance Company, neither of which insures homes in South Florida. Universal is one of three Florida-based insurance companies that are canceling or not renewing more than 53,000 property policies as of June, just before the 2021 hurricane season begins. If your property insurer happens to be Universal Insurance Company of North America, check your mailbox: You may have a cancellation letter waiting there for you. There is a grace period there to protect you while you get the payment in.Three more Florida-based insurance companies are canceling thousands of policies around the state due to hurricane-related claims. The moral of this story is that if you miss a payment deadline for your home insurance, don’t panic right away. Your home insurance provider can work with you to formulate a workable solution so you can avoid a lapse in coverage and still get the policy premium paid. If the issue is financial in nature or there is some other significant reason why you can’t make the payment on time, call your agency and discuss it with them immediately. The best way to avoid lapses in your homeowner's policy is to always plan ahead for getting payments made.įorgetting to mail a check or login to make a timely online payment is not usually a serious problem if you realize your mistake and quickly make the payment. How Can You Avoid Allowing Your Policy to Lapse? Such basic coverage would not protect any personal belongings in the home or provide liability coverage.Ī lapse in your homeowner's policy could also negatively affect your credit rating. The lender would have the right to repossess your home or obtain usually more costly insurance and add it to your mortgage payments. If your home is mortgaged, your lender will have been alerted to the fact that the coverage has lapsed and could consider this a breach of contract. You could have trouble getting new insurance as policy payment history is one of the personal details that home insurance agencies consider when deciding whether they want you as a customer. Policy lapses can also result in other problems. You are also at risk of having a liability lawsuit brought against you if someone is injured at your home while you have no coverage. If your home insurance policy is cancelled and your coverage lapses, your home is no longer protected by the policy.Īnything that happens at that point will not be covered and you will be financially responsible for repairing any damage that occurs. If you do so before the grace period expires, you may be able to work out a way to prevent your policy from lapsing while you catch up on your payments. Once again, every insurance company has different rules about grace periods and policy cancellations, so it's essential that you speak with with them before assuming anything. If the grace period expires and you still have not made the payment, your agency may cancel your policy. Just continue paying on schedule according to the indicated due date. When you miss a payment deadline but get the payment in before the grace period expires, no action will be taken by your home insurance agency. What If You Miss the Grace Period Deadline Too? You should find out your agency as soon as possible exactly how much grace time you have to make your payment. The grace period might be as little as a week to as long as a full month. While this grace period should never be relied on, it's there in case the payment just doesn't get made on time. Most home insurance companies set up policy expiration dates to offer their customers a little safety net just in case a payment is not made by the due date. The good news is that missing a deadline does not necessarily spell disaster as long as the problem is promptly corrected. These are all common questions asked by homeowners who, for a variety of reasons, have missed a home insurance payment. Will this cancel my policy? Is my home now unprotected until that payment is received by my agency? When the missed deadline is a payment for home insurance, many homeowners absolutely panic. Sometimes even those with the best intentions can make mistakes and miss a bill payment deadline.
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