Home insurance nonrenewal: how often it happens and what to do
In the median ZIP code, insurers declined to renew 0.85% of homeowners policies in 2022; in Nebraska, 2.30%.
Independent site, not an insurer or a broker. ZIP code figures are the Treasury's for 2018 to 2022.
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
Chance of at least one nonrenewal in 5 renewals, California
6.0%
At the state's 2022 median ZIP rate of 1.22% a year, held constant.
| Median ZIP rate in 2018 | 0.67% |
| National median ZIP, 2022 | 0.85% |
| Same horizon at the national rate | 4.2% |
| California rank, 51 = lowest | 11 of 51 |
Insurer-initiated nonrenewals only; a policyholder who leaves is not counted. Your own odds depend on the roof, claims and the insurer.
Compiled by Radif Partners · Where the numbers come from · Treasury FIO data, BLS indexes and the texts cited below · not a quote
A nonrenewal is the insurer's decision not to offer a new term when the policy ends. The Treasury file counts them for each ZIP code: in the median ZIP code, 0.85% of HO-3 and HO-5 policies were not renewed in 2022, up from 0.58% in 2020. One ZIP code in ten was above 2.15%. The highest state medians in 2022 were Nebraska (2.30%), South Carolina (2.18%) and North Carolina (2.09%). At the national rate, the chance of at least one nonrenewal over five renewals is about 4.2%, small for one household but large across a city. Texas insurers did not report nonrenewals, so Texas has no figure. The rate counts only insurer decisions, not owners who left, and it stops in 2022. A notice is not the end: most states require advance warning, 120 days in Florida.
What the rate measures
The workbook defines the nonrenewal rate as the count of nonrenewals in the year divided by the policies in force at year end. It is the insurer's choice, for reasons the definition names: "the risk profiles of properties (e.g., the age of the roof) or areas". A homeowner who shops and leaves is not in it, and neither is a cancellation during the term, which the file counts apart. At 0.85%, the national median looks small, yet in a ZIP code of 5,000 insured homes it means about 43 notices in a year.
| State | Median ZIP 2018 | 2020 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | 0.61% | 0.88% | 2.30% |
| South Carolina | 0.76% | 0.95% | 2.18% |
| North Carolina | 2.16% | 0.85% | 2.09% |
| Arizona | 1.14% | 1.10% | 1.70% |
| Missouri | 0.89% | 0.80% | 1.41% |
| Kansas | 0.65% | 0.76% | 1.34% |
| Georgia | 0.88% | 0.63% | 1.30% |
| Virginia | 0.67% | 0.75% | 1.29% |
| Idaho | 0.71% | 0.60% | 1.25% |
| Mississippi | 1.18% | 0.66% | 1.25% |
Where it rose, and where it fell
The largest increases from 2018 to 2022 were in Nebraska (0.61% to 2.30%), South Carolina (0.76% to 2.18%), Kansas (0.65% to 1.34%), South Dakota (0.47% to 1.10%). Nebraska stands out with 2.30% in 2022, a year when its paid claims rose to 7.5 per 100 policies, and North Carolina reached 2.09%. California jumped earlier: from 0.67% in 2018 to 1.25% in 2019, after the wildfires of 2017 and 2018, and stayed there. Michigan went the other way, from 2.79% to 0.94%.
Odds of a nonrenewal over the years ahead
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
Chance of at least one nonrenewal in 10 renewals, North Carolina
19.0%
| Median ZIP rate in 2018 | 2.16% |
| National median ZIP, 2022 | 0.85% |
| Same horizon at the national rate | 8.2% |
| North Carolina rank, 51 = lowest | 3 of 51 |
Reading the figure for your own ZIP code
The lookup on the home page gives the nonrenewal rate of each ZIP code for each year. Two readings help. A rate several times the state median in one year, then back to normal, often follows one insurer leaving the area or cutting a block of policies; it says little about your house. A rate that climbs year after year means several insurers are pulling back, and that is the setting in which renewals get harder and the state plan grows. Remember the threshold of the file: a ZIP code is listed only where 10 or more insurers reported, so the most thinly served places are missing altogether. The Treasury also warns that it did not validate each ZIP code, and that anomalies may matter more for one ZIP code than for a region.
Cancellation during the term is rarer
A nonrenewal ends a policy at its anniversary. A cancellation ends it during the term, and states restrict it much more tightly: after the first weeks of a new policy, most allow it only for nonpayment, fraud or misrepresentation, or a major change in the risk. In the file, cancellations for reasons other than nonpayment ran at 1.42% in the median ZIP code. If you receive a midterm cancellation for any other reason, ask the insurer to cite the clause and the state rule that allows it.
The notice you are owed
Each state sets the notice an insurer must give before a policy ends without renewal. Florida's statute is one of the most detailed: 120 days' written notice of nonrenewal, 45 days' notice of a renewal premium, and 10 days when a policy is cancelled for nonpayment (Fla. Stat. 627.4133). Other states use shorter periods, often 30 to 60 days, and many require the insurer to state the reason. Your state's insurance department publishes the rule; the state pages of this site link to each one.
What to do with a nonrenewal notice
Read the reason first. A roof that is too old, an unrepaired claim or a dog breed can sometimes be fixed before the end date, and some insurers will reconsider with proof of the work. Ask for quotes at once from other admitted insurers and from an independent agent who places several companies. If no admitted insurer will write the house, the state's FAIR plan or Citizens plan is the fallback in most states, described on the FAIR plan page. Keep the mortgage servicer informed: a lapse lets the servicer buy force-placed coverage, which usually costs far more and protects only the lender.
Nonpayment is a different problem
The file also counts cancellations for nonpayment: 1.47% of policies in the median ZIP code over the period, against 1.42% cancelled for other reasons. A premium paid through escrow rarely lapses for nonpayment, but a jump at renewal can leave the escrow account short; the monthly cost page shows how a servicer spreads that shortage.