Cancelled? How to Make Sure Your Home Insurance Gets Renewed
10:37
High homeowner insurance costs can be scary, but losing your coverage could be worse.
Most homeowners (59%) had an increase in their home insurance premiums in 2025, according to Insurify research. While rising costs can be hard to swallow, a far worse scenario is having your policy cancelled, which insurance companies diplomatically call nonrenewal.
Thousands of homeowners each year must scramble to find a new insurance company or turn to a state-supported plan. State-supported plans, which are available in more than 30 states, typically offer less coverage at higher rates than private policies.
The pain of homeowner insurance premiums is so bad that nearly one-third (28%) of homeowners would drop their policy completely if they could, according to Insurify. However, homeowners with a mortgage are typically required by their lender to pay for a homeowners insurance policy.
While increasingly costly damage related to climate change drives some insurance companies to cancel coverage or decline to accept new customers, particularly in states like California and Florida, there are some steps you can take to reduce your chances of cancellation and to lower your premiums.
“Deferred maintenance can increase the likelihood of claims or lead to the insurance company discovering aging items, such as the roof, electrical system and heating,” Barrett says. “Plumbing is another critical component here, as you want the utilities and service for the home to be up-to-date and in good working order.”
Improve Your Resilience to Stay Insured
“Hardening” your home to stand up to severe weather – and sharing the information about what you’ve done with your insurance company – can increase your chances of keeping your insurance.
For example, if you’re replacing or repairing your roof, look into the FORTIFIED home certification process, which could help your roof withstand wind damage and possibly earn you a discount on your insurance. If you live in a wildfire prone area, follow the protocols of the Wildfire Prepared program for safety and resilience.
“In wildfire prone areas, keeping the vegetation tamed near the home goes a long way,” says Michael Giusti, an analyst with insuranceQuotes.com. “Making sure the trees are healthy and not at risk of falling through the roof is important. And making sure to keep the yard and property free of hazards and debris is also something an underwriter is going to look for.”
In other areas, the single biggest thing you can do is to get a new roof, according to Giusti.
“While you’re at it, look into options for fortifying the roof,” he says. “Beyond that, there are some safety devices you can install, such as centrally monitored fire alarms, and devices that hook onto your water supply and shut off water to your home if it detects a leak.”
Is Going Bare the Answer?
Without a mortgage holder requiring a policy, many homeowners might be tempted to go “bare” without a policy, but that is risky, Giusti says.
“Really looking at likely risks and catastrophic risks is important,” he says. “A routine claim following something like a hurricane or a hailstorm is likely to be in the several-thousand-dollar range, and in those cases diverting your annual premium into a savings account rather than paying a policy premium might pay off. But if the worst happens—a fire rips through the home or a roof is complexity torn off - the repercussions could be life-changing.”
Barrett agrees: “I would never advise someone go without insurance on what is among the biggest assets you could own in your lifetime,” he says.
A middle ground might be to look at much higher deductibles, according to Giusti.
“This would be akin to partially self-insuring,” he says. “By setting deductibles at the several-thousand-dollar level, the homeowner would see a significant decrease in their premiums, which could be used to build up that emergency fund to help step in if that deductible needs to be paid.”
A policy with a higher deductible can offset costs while being safer than foregoing coverage completely, especially for liability issues, Barrett says.
“Many people don’t think of liability coming from a homeowner policy, but if you have negligence that causes bodily injury or property damage, it’s vital,” Barrett says. “You also could have coverage for personal injury, such as libel or slander, with many policies.”
Barrett’s example reveals the potential true cost of “going bare.” If your homeowner insurance is $2,500 annually for a $500,000 home and you pay it for 40 years, your payments total $100,000. If you suffer a total loss of your house, you’d get $500,000 plus expanded replacement cost, coverage for your personal property and payment for a temporary home, all of which could come to $1 million or more.
“That kind of protection is worth having,” he says.
Insurance Coverage to Keep
Adjusting your coverage could help lower costs – but what should you keep and what should skip?
Property damage claims account for 96% to 97% of all homeowners insurance claims, with liability claims accounting for the rest, according to theInsurance Information Institute. While they’re less common, liability claims are typically more expensive than the average property damage claim. The most common claims (43%) are for wind and hail damage, followed by water damage (24%) and fire and lightning damage claims (21%).
“Fire is typically the most catastrophic claim, followed quickly by flooding,” Guisti says. “Flood damage is never covered by a homeowners policy, so getting a separate federal flood insurance policy is essential, and well worth the cost in most communities. I encourage buying flood policies, even if the home is not in a flood zone, which is where a lot of the flood claims originate each year.”
While it’s possible to skip coverage for some of these potential claims depending on your lender requirements, Barrett says he wouldn’t be comfortable gambling with the possibility of a fire, wind event or other issue.
Skip Home Insurance Coverage to Save?
There are some “enhanced” or optional coverages that you can consider skipping, but Barrett advises against it.
“A client I had asked to remove the ‘Backup of Sewers and Drains’ coverage on their policy – it saved them a bit of premium but then cost them an out of pocket expense on a new boiler as the water drainage in town failed to keep up and filled the basement with water,” he says.
If you know you have a place to stay if you have to be out of your home for a while, you might consider skipping the “loss of use” provision that pays for temporary housing, but Guisti says that isn’t a big line item and won’t save much.
“Obviously earthquake coverage, which is not covered by standard policies, isn’t as important in Florida as it is in California,” he says. “But the best rule of thumb is rather than outright skipping coverage, boosting the deductible is the best advice.”
Some homeowners may want to look at their personal belongings coverage to see if they can save money by cutting it back. Typically, belongings are covered as a percentage of the total policy value, which Barrett says is typically 70%.
“I think most people greatly underestimate personal property,” Barrett says. “If you got your 8-foot couch from Aunt Clara or your dining room table that seats six as a wedding gift, insurance doesn’t care. They’re going to replace it with like kind and quality, brand new. Don’t sell yourself short as this is not really a great area to look for cost savings.”
In addition, many items such as collectables, electronics, art and jewelry have limited coverage, Guisti points out.
“If someone has a house full of treasures, they probably should be looking at adding specific coverage extensions rather than pulling back,” Guisti says.
Top Ways to Lower Your Home Insurance Costs
More than half of homeowners (57%) surveyed by Insurify (57%) made sacrifices to afford home insurance, including taking on debt (15%), borrowing from friends or family (12%), and skipping meals (10%). To cut their insurance costs in half, 30% would allow insurers to install and monitor internal or external home cameras, and 19% say they would allow surprise drone or in-person home inspections.
Less drastic measures can bring down your premiums, at least incrementally.
“I keep coming back to the deductible, but that is where you’re going to find the best bang for your buck,” Guisti says.
Other options to consider for potential discounts:
Monitored fire alarms.
Leak detectors with an automated shut-off system.
Freeze detection systems that send alerts when home temperatures drop below a certain limit such as Resideo and Eufy.
Electrical system safety hazard detection systems such as Ting and Sense.
Upgraded windows and doors.
Fortifying the roof.
Bundling home insurance with other policies such as auto insurance.
“Shop around,” Guisti says. “Competition is your friend. The more options you have in front of you, the better your choice will be in the end. Working with an agent or a broker to find out which investments will pay off for which policy is what makes the most sense. It would be a shame to spend thousands of dollars on an upgrade, only to learn this particular policy doesn’t offer this particular discount.”
Cancelled? How to Make Sure Your Home Insurance Gets Renewed
High homeowner insurance costs can be scary, but losing your coverage could be worse.
Most homeowners (59%) had an increase in their home insurance premiums in 2025, according to Insurify research. While rising costs can be hard to swallow, a far worse scenario is having your policy cancelled, which insurance companies diplomatically call nonrenewal.
Thousands of homeowners each year must scramble to find a new insurance company or turn to a state-supported plan. State-supported plans, which are available in more than 30 states, typically offer less coverage at higher rates than private policies.
The pain of homeowner insurance premiums is so bad that nearly one-third (28%) of homeowners would drop their policy completely if they could, according to Insurify. However, homeowners with a mortgage are typically required by their lender to pay for a homeowners insurance policy.
While increasingly costly damage related to climate change drives some insurance companies to cancel coverage or decline to accept new customers, particularly in states like California and Florida, there are some steps you can take to reduce your chances of cancellation and to lower your premiums.
Taking care of your home can help, according to Michael Barrett, a co-owner and insurance agent with Trusted Choice, and a board member and national director for Vermont of Big “I,” an association for independent insurance agents.
“Deferred maintenance can increase the likelihood of claims or lead to the insurance company discovering aging items, such as the roof, electrical system and heating,” Barrett says. “Plumbing is another critical component here, as you want the utilities and service for the home to be up-to-date and in good working order.”
Improve Your Resilience to Stay Insured
“Hardening” your home to stand up to severe weather – and sharing the information about what you’ve done with your insurance company – can increase your chances of keeping your insurance.
For example, if you’re replacing or repairing your roof, look into the FORTIFIED home certification process, which could help your roof withstand wind damage and possibly earn you a discount on your insurance. If you live in a wildfire prone area, follow the protocols of the Wildfire Prepared program for safety and resilience.
“In wildfire prone areas, keeping the vegetation tamed near the home goes a long way,” says Michael Giusti, an analyst with insuranceQuotes.com. “Making sure the trees are healthy and not at risk of falling through the roof is important. And making sure to keep the yard and property free of hazards and debris is also something an underwriter is going to look for.”
In other areas, the single biggest thing you can do is to get a new roof, according to Giusti.
“While you’re at it, look into options for fortifying the roof,” he says. “Beyond that, there are some safety devices you can install, such as centrally monitored fire alarms, and devices that hook onto your water supply and shut off water to your home if it detects a leak.”
Is Going Bare the Answer?
Without a mortgage holder requiring a policy, many homeowners might be tempted to go “bare” without a policy, but that is risky, Giusti says.
“Really looking at likely risks and catastrophic risks is important,” he says. “A routine claim following something like a hurricane or a hailstorm is likely to be in the several-thousand-dollar range, and in those cases diverting your annual premium into a savings account rather than paying a policy premium might pay off. But if the worst happens—a fire rips through the home or a roof is complexity torn off - the repercussions could be life-changing.”
Barrett agrees: “I would never advise someone go without insurance on what is among the biggest assets you could own in your lifetime,” he says.
A middle ground might be to look at much higher deductibles, according to Giusti.
“This would be akin to partially self-insuring,” he says. “By setting deductibles at the several-thousand-dollar level, the homeowner would see a significant decrease in their premiums, which could be used to build up that emergency fund to help step in if that deductible needs to be paid.”
A policy with a higher deductible can offset costs while being safer than foregoing coverage completely, especially for liability issues, Barrett says.
“Many people don’t think of liability coming from a homeowner policy, but if you have negligence that causes bodily injury or property damage, it’s vital,” Barrett says. “You also could have coverage for personal injury, such as libel or slander, with many policies.”
Barrett’s example reveals the potential true cost of “going bare.” If your homeowner insurance is $2,500 annually for a $500,000 home and you pay it for 40 years, your payments total $100,000. If you suffer a total loss of your house, you’d get $500,000 plus expanded replacement cost, coverage for your personal property and payment for a temporary home, all of which could come to $1 million or more.
“That kind of protection is worth having,” he says.
Insurance Coverage to Keep
Adjusting your coverage could help lower costs – but what should you keep and what should skip?
Property damage claims account for 96% to 97% of all homeowners insurance claims, with liability claims accounting for the rest, according to theInsurance Information Institute. While they’re less common, liability claims are typically more expensive than the average property damage claim. The most common claims (43%) are for wind and hail damage, followed by water damage (24%) and fire and lightning damage claims (21%).
“Fire is typically the most catastrophic claim, followed quickly by flooding,” Guisti says. “Flood damage is never covered by a homeowners policy, so getting a separate federal flood insurance policy is essential, and well worth the cost in most communities. I encourage buying flood policies, even if the home is not in a flood zone, which is where a lot of the flood claims originate each year.”
While it’s possible to skip coverage for some of these potential claims depending on your lender requirements, Barrett says he wouldn’t be comfortable gambling with the possibility of a fire, wind event or other issue.
Skip Home Insurance Coverage to Save?
There are some “enhanced” or optional coverages that you can consider skipping, but Barrett advises against it.
“A client I had asked to remove the ‘Backup of Sewers and Drains’ coverage on their policy – it saved them a bit of premium but then cost them an out of pocket expense on a new boiler as the water drainage in town failed to keep up and filled the basement with water,” he says.
If you know you have a place to stay if you have to be out of your home for a while, you might consider skipping the “loss of use” provision that pays for temporary housing, but Guisti says that isn’t a big line item and won’t save much.
“Obviously earthquake coverage, which is not covered by standard policies, isn’t as important in Florida as it is in California,” he says. “But the best rule of thumb is rather than outright skipping coverage, boosting the deductible is the best advice.”
Some homeowners may want to look at their personal belongings coverage to see if they can save money by cutting it back. Typically, belongings are covered as a percentage of the total policy value, which Barrett says is typically 70%.
“I think most people greatly underestimate personal property,” Barrett says. “If you got your 8-foot couch from Aunt Clara or your dining room table that seats six as a wedding gift, insurance doesn’t care. They’re going to replace it with like kind and quality, brand new. Don’t sell yourself short as this is not really a great area to look for cost savings.”
In addition, many items such as collectables, electronics, art and jewelry have limited coverage, Guisti points out.
“If someone has a house full of treasures, they probably should be looking at adding specific coverage extensions rather than pulling back,” Guisti says.
Top Ways to Lower Your Home Insurance Costs
More than half of homeowners (57%) surveyed by Insurify (57%) made sacrifices to afford home insurance, including taking on debt (15%), borrowing from friends or family (12%), and skipping meals (10%). To cut their insurance costs in half, 30% would allow insurers to install and monitor internal or external home cameras, and 19% say they would allow surprise drone or in-person home inspections.
Less drastic measures can bring down your premiums, at least incrementally.
“I keep coming back to the deductible, but that is where you’re going to find the best bang for your buck,” Guisti says.
Other options to consider for potential discounts:
“Shop around,” Guisti says. “Competition is your friend. The more options you have in front of you, the better your choice will be in the end. Working with an agent or a broker to find out which investments will pay off for which policy is what makes the most sense. It would be a shame to spend thousands of dollars on an upgrade, only to learn this particular policy doesn’t offer this particular discount.”
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By Michele Lerner, Associate Editor
Michele Lerner is an award-winning freelance writer, editor, and author who writes about real estate, personal finance, and business.Also Read