Why is it so difficult to find insurance after a lapse in coverage?

We lost our home in a fire which resulted in some tough financial issues, and unfortunately, we lapsed on our car insurance by a couple of weeks. Now we can't find anyone who can insure us! We had an excellent record and history of coverage (no lapse in 13 years before this) with the same company for many years. Why is it so hard to find coverage after one small misstep?

Thank you for reaching out to The Zebra! I'm sorry to hear that you're having difficulty finding insurance after experiencing such a devastating event like losing your home. Auto insurance companies rate heavily on whether or not you have prior insurance or not. Any lapse in coverage (even that of a few weeks) is considered not having prior insurance. This can impact not only how much an insurance company will charge you, but will also impact whether or not they consider you an eligible customer. Some insurance companies require you to have prior insurance, with no lapse, to qualify with them. These are carriers we consider "standard" or "preferred" carriers in insurance.

Standard and preferred insurance companies typically offer better rates for customers. However, all is not lost! If you can get a policy and maintain it for 6 months, then you can qualify for cheaper options. My advice would be to get insurance through whatever company you can for the next 6 months, and then re-shop for insurance after 6 months to see if there are better available options for you.

Many different factors go into the rate you pay for car insurance, such as age, gender, and location, but maintaining proper coverage is key. Although it seems reasonable that after going through so much upheaval renewing your auto policy wasn't top of mind, you'll have to work a little harder to get back to where you were with insurance coverage — just remember that it's possible!

Give our agency a call at 888-444-8949 to get a personalized quote, or you can get a quote online through www.TheZebra.com.