What if I can&039t get coverage? | III

If you live in a home that is considered “high risk” or plan to move to a high risk location, you may have difficulty obtaining an insurance policy.

what constitutes high risk?

Reading: What happens if you can’t get homeowners insurance

Your home is located in an area prone to severe weather conditions such as hurricanes, windstorms, tornadoes, or hail.
you live in an urban area with high crime, vandalism, and theft.
Your home has an old plumbing, electrical, and/or heating system; these represent a higher chance of causing fire or water damage.

If one or two insurers turn you down, don’t despair. You Have Other Options If you’re buying a new home, ask your real estate agent, mortgage lender, or builder for the names of companies that list in your area. if it’s an existing home, ask the previous owners who insured the home. If you still can’t find coverage, consider the following:

ask your current insurance professional for help.

Talk to the agent or representative of the company that previously insured your home or is currently insuring your car, boat or business. If the problem is not where the house is located, but the condition it is in, find out what kind of improvements or disaster resistant features would be needed to make your house more insurable. the institute of business & home safety (ibhs) also provides information on natural hazards, community land use, and ways you can protect your property from damage.

talk to your neighbors and find out what insurers they use.

Get the names of any agents who may have knowledge of specific hazards in your neighborhood.

call your state insurance department

can usually provide you with a list of underwriting insurers in your area. You may also have information on community groups that help homeowners with insurance problems, such as neighborworks america.

If you still can’t get insurance, find out if your state has a special insurance plan known as a marketplace. In general, there are two types of plans:

1. fair plans

Fair access (fair) insurance requirements schemes were created in the 1960s to make insurance available in areas that had abnormally high exposure to risks over which they had no control. These plans are insurance groups that sell property insurance to people who can’t get coverage on the voluntary market. Fair plan policies may cost more than private insurance and may offer less coverage, but they offer insurance protection where it might not otherwise exist. all fair plans cover losses due to fire, vandalism, riots, and windstorms. about a dozen states have some kind of standard homeowners policy, which includes liability. In California, the plan covers wildfires. georgia and new york provide wind and hail coverage for certain coastal communities. To qualify for fair coverage under the plan, you must:

make improvements that limit the risk of fire, theft, or water damage, such as improving your electrical wiring, heating or plumbing systems, repairing your roof, or improving security.
If you don’t correct conditions that make your home loss-prone, the plan administrator has the right to deny insurance coverage.

Below are the states that offer fair plan insurance or assistance in obtaining coverage and the phone numbers of the plan administrators:

2. beach plans and storms

In seven Atlantic and Gulf states, there is a counterpart to fair plans called beach and windstorm plans. provide residents and business owners, in designated areas, coverage against hurricanes and other severe windstorms.

windstorm plans in florida, mississippi, south carolina and texas offer coverage for wind and hail damage only. plans in alabama and north carolina also offer fire coverage. In New York, the Coastal Market Assistance Plan helps homeowners obtain coverage if their application has been denied by at least three private insurers.