Progressive plans to non-renew 100K Florida home insurance policies. What to know

Florida’s home insurance crisis continues to weigh on homeowners as reports indicate that Progressive plans to send out non-renewal notices to roughly half of its home insurance policies in December.

The Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) confirmed to several media outlets that Progressive would be dropping an estimated 100,000 home insurance policies to “rebalance” its exposure in the state.

Jeff Sibel, a Progressive spokesman confirmed to WFLA that the company doesn’t have any plans to leave Florida, but the company announced to its agents on Friday that it would no longer provide dwelling/fire, also known as DP3, coverage in Florida.

Triple-I confirmed that Progressive is planning to non-renew 47,000 DP3 policies and 53,000 “high-risk” property policies.

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Progressive Home is one of the largest homeowner insurers in the state by direct premiums written, making up 3.9% of the market share, according to Triple-I.

Progressive’s announcement comes after AAA sent out a similar batch of non-renewal notices for some of its homeowner policies and Farmers Insurance announced it was leaving Florida entirely.

Policyholders affected by the move will be notified in late December and will have until May 2024 to find replacement coverage.

Here’s what to know.

Is Progressive pulling out of Florida?

Progressive said it has no plans of leaving Florida. A spokesperson told WFLA that this rebalancing would help the company continue writing business in Florida in a “meaningful” way.

Progressive didn’t renew 56,000 policies last year, according to Triple-I.

Why am I receiving a non-renewal notice and what is it?

Insurance companies send non-renewal notices to policyholders when the company has decided not to continue providing insurance coverage on the home after the current policy expires.

Companies will send customers non-renewal notices for multiple reasons including:

• Your home fails to pass an inspection

• Your insurance provider is reducing its number of policies in your area or pulling out all together

• Your insurance provider found evidence of fraud or false information on your application

What should I do if I receive a non-renewal notice?

No one wants to deal with the hassle of receiving a non-renewal notice. Fortunately, policyholders have plenty of options.

• Identify why your home insurance wasn't renewed. The first thing homeowners need to do when they receive a non-renewal notice is figure out why it was sent. If a homeowner needs to make repairs on their home following a failed home inspection, they will need to get those done before seeking new coverage.

• Shop around. Like it or not, you will need to shop around to find new coverage. The silver lining is that if you haven't shopped around recently, you may be able to find a cheaper rate with another company than a renewal would have been.

• Check with Citizens Insurance. Florida's state-backed Citizens Insurance was created in 2002 to provide homeowners with a last-resort option if they aren't able to find insurance in the private market.

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How is a home insurance non-renewal notice different from a cancellation?

Non-renewal notices and cancellations are different when it comes to home insurance. In most places, an insurance carrier isn't allowed to flat-out cancel a policy once it has been in effect for longer than 60 days.

Whereas a cancellation is effective on a date indicated in the cancellation notice sent out to a customer, a non-renewal notice is typically sent out to customers between 60 and 30 days before when their policy would have been renewed.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Progressive Home to non-renew Florida policies. Here's what to know