Hurricane Irma going to hit my State, updating my insurance.

[Jia Liu]

Hi everyone! I lived in my property for two years in South Carolina. I moved out and turned it into a rental on March 2017. This whole time I had it covered under my original homeowners insurance. Hearing that Hurricane Irma is going to hit South Carolina, I immediately called my insurance broker. She helped me cancel my original homeowners insurance and set me up with a different company for Dwelling and Fire insurance (landlord insurance?) The effective date on the new insurance is 9/7/2017. Let's say the Hurricane hits on 9/11/2017. Will I be OK in terms of coverage? I am asking because I have heard that it can take anywhere from 15 days to 45 days for a new insurance to be active. Thanks!

[John Mocker]

Jia,

Ask your agent for a copy of the Declarations  of the policy (many companies issue them electronically) or if that is not available, get a Binder.  Either document should show that the policy is effective 9/7/17.   Most states have laws to protect the Insured and specify why a policy can be cancelled and when (ie. 15 days, 30 days, etc.). 

The big worry for you would be if you misrepresented information on the application.   If that misrepresentation caused the insurance company to issue a policy that they would not have written then they may not have to pay the claim.  In most states, the insurance companies have to file their underwriting guidelines stating what guidelines are used to determine if a risk is eligible or not eligible.  Hope that the storm misses your property so you do not need to test your new insurance.