Renters insurance offers valuable protection against damage or destruction to property, but you might need to cancel it at some point for various reasons—you move to another address, or perhaps you’ve bought a home and you’re switching to homeowner’s insurance. How do you go about that?
First and foremost, check your lease agreement. More and more landlords require tenants to keep a renters policy, so if you cancel your policy, you might be breaking the terms of the lease.
Check your renters insurance policy, it should detail the specific steps one must take to cancel it. You may need to provide a certain number of days’ notice and, most probably, the insurance company will require a written notice that you wish to cancel the insurance.
Secure other coverage. If you’re moving and wish to continue renters insurance, make sure that you do not have a lapse in coverage. Make sure you put a new insurance policy in place before you cancel the old one.
On your monthly statement or in your original policy you’ll find the mailing address or fax number for your insurance company. Write a short letter stating that you wish to cancel coverage and include the effective date you want your coverage to cease, your account number, name and address. There are companies who will allow you to perform this process over the internet by logging into your account on your insurance company’s website.
In case you need to show proof of owning a renters insurance policy to your landlord, it’s easy. Call your insurance company and ask a representative to fax a copy of your declarations page which contains an overview of your policy, or a note on the insurance company’s letterhead to the landlord as proof that you have renters insurance.
You can also call your landlord and initiate a three-way call with your insurance company—ask the insurance representative to confirm your coverage details over the phone so that the landlord can verify this information.
If there is no urgency to the matter, wait for your renters insurance policy information to arrive in the mail. Make a copy of the declarations page and give it to your landlord in person.
If the company offers the option of an online account, register, log in and download your policy information. Then choose whatever option you desire to send it to your landlord.
