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Dear Uncovered:
As frustrating as it is to have your coverage pulled out from under you, your insurer IS entitled to cancel your insurance at any time, as long as it follows the proper procedures.
First of all, the insurance company must give you written notice, delivered either personally or by registered mail. If the notice is personally served, the cancellation takes effect five days after delivery; if it is sent by registered mail, the cancellation becomes effective after 15 days, starting from the day after the notice has been delivered to the addressee's post office. Whether or not you actually pick up the notice from the post office makes no difference, as you discovered.
Insurers are not required to give you a reason for cancelling your coverage, but they may choose to do so, as your insurer did.
Probably the most common reason for cancellation is unpaid premiums. Under these circumstances, the insurer has no choice but to cancel. Otherwise, it would be obliged to cover you even if you hadn't paid a cent.
However, if there has been a genuine misunderstanding about an unpaid premium, as you imply, explain it to your insurer right away. If the insurer agrees that it was an honest mistake, it may be willing to resume your coverage from that point on.
Otherwise, your record will show that your insurance was cancelled for non-payment of premium, and may come back to haunt you when you apply for insurance at another company. And if you have a mortgage on your house, the mortgagee will also receive notification of your cancellation. That could really put you in the doghouse!
The insurer may also cancel your policy if it discovers that you have withheld important information about the risk it is insuring. So don't give your insurer cause for cancellation. That way, you can keep your coverage intact and leave the cancellations to the television networks!
Note: Remember, policies vary, so when in doubt, consult your insurance representative.
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