If you’re a Florida homeowner and just received notice that your homeowners insurance company was dropping you, you aren’t alone. With less than a week before the Atlantic Hurricane season kicks off, thousands of homeowners in the Sunshine State are scrambling to find coverage.
Three Florida-based companies were recently approved by the state regulator to drop more than 50,000 policies.
Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company operates under the umbrella of Universal Insurance. Started in Florida in 1997, Universal provides coverage in 19 states. The company reports they have approximately 57,000 policies in force as of March 1, 2021.
As stated in the order approving the company’s policy cancellations, the home insurer reported net losses of $4.1 million in 2019 and $22.5 million in 2020.
Of the 13,294 policies approved for early cancellation, approximately 9,341 are homeowners insurance policies (HO-3). The remaining are dwelling fire policies (DP-3). Universal must provide notice of cancellation at least 45 days prior to the effective date of cancellation.
Southern Fidelity will look to remove 19,600 policies from their books over the next 14 months. The insurer was founded in 2005, and they recently merged with Capitol Preferred Insurance Company.
The company notes that dropping these policies is to protect the best interests of their policyholders as well as the public.
Gulfstream has about 56,000 policies in Florida, and their request to drop 20,311 personal residential policies is to “provide an immediate positive impact to the Company’s financial position.” The insurer will provide 45 days’ notice of cancellation to policyholders.
Of the policies being dropped, 16,574 are HO-3 homeowners insurance policies, 47 HO-4 tenant policies, and 932 HO-6 condo insurance policies. An additional 2,758 policies are dwelling fire.
Gulfstream’s policy cancellations are also a condition of entering into a letter of intent with a new investor.
If you receive a homeowners insurance non-renewal or cancellation notice, first, take a deep breath and know there are steps to take to remedy the situation. You will, however, want to take action fairly quickly to ensure your home and property remain insured.
You will want to note this date and make sure you have secured new coverage before then.
Now is a great time to familiarize yourself with your current policy and coverage. Have you made any improvements to your home since your last policy was written? If you recently got a new roof or installed impact doors and windows, you can receive discounts on your new policy.
If you already have an insurance agent, talk to them immediately. If you don’t have an insurance agent, you can easily shop for home insurance online on your own. Be sure to look at the coverage being offered by each company - not just the total premium.
There are several reasons why you could receive a non-renewal or cancellation letter from your home insurance company. In addition to changes with the company itself as in the case of Universal Insurance, Southern Fidelity and Gulfstream, you might be dropped if:
Some specific examples of these types of changes can include:
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