Force-placed Insurance Explained

Most people are not familiar with force-placed insurance, and while they should know what it is, they do not want to get stuck with it. Blogs and articles often explain to you how wonderful insurance is, and how it can decrease financial risk for homeowners, car owners, and business owners. Force-placed insurance is an insurance policy that a mortgage lender purchases for people who fail to meet the terms of their contracts by not providing their own plan. The expenses are then passed along to the mortgage holder.

Perhaps the biggest reason that force-placed insurance policies are something people do not want is that the coverage is limited and the price is high. Making sure that you do not have to have force-placed insurance is easy to do. Homeowners.com is the top place to find both cheap and quality home insurance for your home, helping you to avoid being required to have force-placed insurance. Helping you save money on homeowner’s insurance is what this site was made for.

How Much Does It Cost

Some people feel that after they close on a house, they can drop their home insurance policy, or have a lapse in it, without penalty. The truth of the matter is that lenders are contacted if a lapse in coverage occurs. After they are notified that a homeowner’s insurance policy has ended, they will likely look to give you a force-placed insurance policy to protect their investment. You should not have to spend money that you do not need to insure your home, and doing so can be easily avoided.

Force-placed insurance can cost up to four or five times more than a standard home insurance policy. Because mortgage loan papers require that you pay for force-placed insurance if you fail to meet insurance requirements on your own, you may be stuck with a massive bill and not be able to refuse to pay it.

What Does It Cover

When force-placed insurance is put on a homeowner, it is not there to protect the homeowner, but rather to protect the lender. In many cases, the insurance is not enough to protect the homebuyer much.

Personal property protection is often not included in force-placed insurance coverage. This means the plan does not cover things such as furniture, electronics, clothing, and other items.

Personal liability insurance coverage is also not included in most force-placed coverage plans. If someone gets hurt on your property, you could be hit with legal and medical costs.

Professionals recommend that people get enough dwelling coverage to rebuild their home if a covered peril destroys it completely. Force-placed insurance coverage is likely only to provide enough coverage to pay off the balance owed on the mortgage.

How To Avoid Force-Placed Insurance

There are three main reasons that a lender will put people on force-placed coverage:

1. They have insurance, but they have not shown their lender written proof.

2. The lender has been informed that you have canceled your insurance policy, and have not provided written proof of a new one.

3. The insurance a homeowner has does not meet the terms stated in the loan.

To avoid force-placed insurance, you must provide written proof that your homeowner's insurance is current, paid for, and meets the terms stated in your loan. If you change insurance providers, make sure the lending company is aware and has written proof of the new policy being active before the old policy is canceled.

Keep Home Insurance Costs Down

Finding a company that excels in customer service and provides fantastic policies is an integral part of being a homeowner. There are many ways to save money on homeowner’s insurance.

Here are a few examples:

Bundling

If you combine your homeowner's insurance with another type of coverage from the same insurance provider, you can save money. People look into getting their auto insurance and home insurance from the same company when possible, for example.

Home security and safety systems

By adding weatherproofing, smoke alarms and sprinklers, bolt locks and security systems, and other security and safety systems to the home, it increases the number of discounts that homeowners qualify for.

Changing your deductible

Another way to lower your rates is to raise your deductible. Make sure your deductible is low enough that you can afford it if an unexpected event occurs. A deductible is the amount that a policyholder agrees to pay before the insurance provider begins to pay for damages.

Getting stuck with force-placed insurance is not good. It is designed to motivate people to buy their own coverage and does a fantastic job with that. As a homeowner, you will want to purchase and maintain homeowner’s coverage to avoid having to spend up to four times or more on your policy.

Homeowners.com can help get you the coverage you need, and of the savings you deserve.