Dropped by Your Home Insurance Company in Arkansas? Here’s What to Do.
A non-renewal notice is not a verdict on you or your house. In a market where carriers have pulled back across Arkansas, it usually means one company’s appetite changed — and roughly forty others didn’t. Here’s the order to work in, and the mistake that turns a solvable problem into an expensive one.
The short answer
If your Arkansas homeowners policy was non-renewed, don’t wait and don’t let it lapse. A non-renewal is a carrier decision about appetite — usually roof age, claim history, or a whole book being pulled back — not a permanent mark against your home. Start replacement coverage immediately, read the stated reason, and shop the independent market rather than one company. Cribb compares 40+ carriers, several of which write homes others decline.
It’s usually the market, not your house.
Arkansas homeowners have absorbed several hard years, and carriers have responded by tightening what they’ll write. Understanding which category you fall into tells you how easy the fix is.
Roof age or condition
The single biggest driver in Arkansas. Many carriers now cap the roof age they’ll write, or move older roofs to a depreciated settlement. An inspection photo showing granule loss or prior hail bruising can trigger a non-renewal on its own.
Claim history
Two or three claims in a few years can end a policy even when each one was small and legitimate. Underwriters read frequency as a predictor. A single large hail claim is often treated more gently than three modest ones.
The carrier left the state or the line
When a company withdraws from Arkansas homeowners, or exits a segment, every policy in that book goes — perfect claim record included. If this is your reason, your home is almost certainly still very placeable.
An underwriting item you didn’t fix
Peeling paint, an unfenced pool, a deck without rails, an aging service panel, a tree over the roof. Carriers often send a letter first. If a repair request went unanswered, the non-renewal is the follow-through — and fixing it reopens the market.
The home stopped matching the policy
Renting it out, a long vacancy, a home business with foot traffic, or a short-term rental can all move a house outside a standard homeowners form. The fix is usually a different policy type, not a different price.
Cancellation is a different thing
Non-renewal ends the policy at its natural expiration. Cancellation ends it mid-term and is far more limited in what can trigger it. Read which word your letter uses — it changes your timeline and your options.
Work it in this order.
The sequence matters more than the speed. Doing step four before step one is how people end up with a worse policy than they needed.
The mistake that costs the most: letting it lapse while you shop.
A lapse in homeowners coverage is one of the few things that follows you between carriers. It raises your next premium, can push you out of preferred markets entirely, and invites your lender to force-place a policy at several times the cost of a real one — with none of the contents or liability protection you actually need. If you take one thing from this page: start the replacement before the expiration date, not after.
What a non-renewal notice owes you.
Arkansas law draws a hard line between non-renewal at expiration and cancellation mid-term, and your protections are different depending on which word your letter uses. Read it carefully before you do anything else.
Non-renewal: 30 days’ notice
Under Ark. Code § 23-88-105, except for nonpayment of premium, a property insurer must give you either a written notice of nonrenewal or an offer of renewal at least 30 days before your existing term expires. That’s your window, and it’s why acting the week the letter arrives matters.
The same statute carries a provision most homeowners never use. If the carrier sends an offer of renewal rather than a non-renewal, it must state the new premium and describe any change in deductible or policy provision in the renewal policy. So a large increase, or a deductible that quietly moved from a flat dollar amount to a percentage of your dwelling coverage, has to be disclosed to you 30 days out — not discovered at a claim. Read that notice as carefully as you’d read a non-renewal.
Mid-term cancellation: much harder after 60 days
Once a property or casualty policy has been in force more than 60 days, or after a renewal takes effect, terminating it before expiration for a reason outside the grounds enumerated in the Trade Practices Act — or without proper notice — is defined as an unfair property or casualty policy cancellation under Ark. Code § 23-66-206. Mid-term cancellation requires at least 20 days’ written notice to you and to any lienholder or loss payee, or at least 10 days when the cancellation is for nonpayment of premium. In the first 60 days of a new policy, cancellation is governed by the policy’s own terms.
The Arkansas protection almost nobody knows about: storm claims.
Ark. Code § 23-63-109 states that no property insurance policy shall be cancelled, nor its renewal denied, solely as a result of claims arising from natural causes — defined as an act occasioned exclusively by the violence of nature, where all human agency is excluded. In a state where hail and tornado claims drive most property losses, that is a meaningful protection, and violations are subject to penalties under the Trade Practices Act.
The Arkansas Insurance Department has interpreted this directly. In guidance to carriers, AID has read the word “solely” to mean that natural-cause claims beyond the insured’s control cannot be the event that triggers a non-renewal or cancellation, and has directed that such claims are not to be counted when a carrier evaluates an insured’s loss history for cancellation or non-renewal purposes.
Be precise about what that does and doesn’t do for you, because the distinction is where most of the confusion lives. It does not mean a carrier can never non-renew a home that has had hail claims. If your roof condition no longer meets the carrier’s underwriting guidelines, that is a separate and legitimate ground, and a worn roof is a property condition rather than a claim. What the statute addresses is the claims themselves being used as the trigger. AID has said compliance is determined case by case.
Practically: if your letter cites weather claims as the reason and nothing else, that is worth a conversation. If it cites roof age or condition, you’re on different ground — and the answer is a roof and a re-shop, not a dispute.
Two more limits worth knowing
- Claims that cost the carrier nothing. Ark. Code § 23-63-110 provides that an insurer may not cancel a policy or increase its premium solely because of claims that do not result in a loss to the insurer. A request for policy information, or a conversation with your agent about whether something is covered, is not a claim.
- Credit alone isn’t enough. A personal lines property and casualty insurer may not deny, cancel, non-renew, or set a renewal rate solely on the basis of credit information without considering other underwriting factors. Credit-based insurance scoring in Arkansas is governed by Ark. Code § 23-67-401 et seq.
If you believe the reason doesn’t hold
The Arkansas Insurance Department accepts consumer complaints and is the right venue if you think a cancellation or non-renewal ran contrary to these provisions. You can file a complaint with AID directly. Do this in parallel with replacing your coverage, never instead of it — a complaint doesn’t keep your policy in force, and a lapse costs you more than the dispute is likely to win.
Sources: Ark. Code §§ 23-88-105, 23-66-206, 23-63-109, 23-63-110, 23-67-401 et seq.; Arkansas Insurance Department guidance to property and casualty carriers. Statutory subdivision numbering within § 23-66-206 has been amended over time — older Department bulletins cite subdivision (9) for provisions now appearing at (15). Verified against current published code July 2026.
General information, not legal advice.
Insurance regulations change and depend on the specific facts of your policy. Confirm your rights with the Arkansas Insurance Department or qualified counsel rather than relying on any web page, including this one.
Arkansas has had a hard several years.
Non-renewals rose because the underlying loss picture changed. Knowing the backdrop helps you read your own letter accurately — and stops you from assuming the problem is your house.
| What changed | Why it reaches your policy |
|---|---|
| Severe convective storms and hail | Arkansas sits in a high-frequency hail corridor. The Arkansas Insurance Commissioner has publicly identified severe weather — particularly hail and severe convective storms — as the greatest risk to the property insurance landscape, and has pushed toward more durable roofing as the structural answer. |
| Statewide rate increases | A Consumer Federation of America analysis reported a 34% increase in Arkansas home insurance rates between 2021 and 2024 — among the sharper climbs nationally. |
| Carriers narrowing appetite | Insurers have reduced or stopped writing new homeowners business in parts of the Arkansas market, which shrinks the pool and pushes remaining carriers to tighten roof-age and claim-frequency rules. The Insurance Commissioner has acknowledged that some carriers have weighed whether to keep underwriting in the state at all. |
| Rebuild costs | The cost to repair and rebuild rose faster than premiums did for several years, which is why renewal increases and non-renewals arrived together rather than separately. |
Source: Arkansas Business interview with Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Jimmy Harris (Dec 2025); Consumer Federation of America rate analysis 2021–2024 as reported by U.S. News (2026). Figures are as reported and are not independently verified against primary filings.
The Northwest Arkansas version of this.
Benton and Washington County homes carry real hail exposure, and the housing stock across Bentonville, Rogers, Centerton, and Cave Springs has grown fast enough that a large number of roofs came of age at the same time. That’s why non-renewal letters in NWA cluster around roof age more than anywhere else in the underwriting file — and why how your policy settles a roof claim matters as much as whether you have coverage at all.
One company declined. That’s one company.
A typical annual range for bundled homeowners policies placed through Cribb Insurance Group on a five-year-old, roughly $400,000 Northwest Arkansas home — a planning figure, not a quote and not a guarantee. Your premium turns on roof age and material, dwelling replacement cost, your deductible structure including any wind and hail percentage, claim history, protection class, and — where Arkansas allows it — a credit-based insurance score. Homes coming off a non-renewal often land above this band initially and come back into it after a roof replacement or a clean year.
What an independent agency does with a non-renewal that a single-company agent can’t.
Carrier appetite is not uniform. A roof age that ends one company’s interest is inside another’s guidelines. A claim count that trips one underwriter is routine for a carrier that specializes in exactly that. With 40+ carrier appointments — including markets built for homes that standard carriers decline — the question stops being “will someone write this?” and becomes “which one fits best, and at what deductible structure?” That’s a different conversation, and it’s the one worth having before your expiration date.
Cribby is our AI insurance assistant — ask it anything about coverage, Arkansas rules, or what a letter from your carrier actually means, in plain English, any time of day. It’s free and there’s no form to fill out first.
Non-renewal questions we hear most.
What does it mean if my home insurance company non-renewed me?
It means the carrier has decided not to continue your policy past its expiration date. It is a decision about that company’s underwriting appetite — commonly roof age, claim frequency, an unfixed underwriting condition, or a book of business being pulled back from Arkansas entirely. It is not a statement that your home is uninsurable, and it is different from a mid-term cancellation.
Can I get homeowners insurance in Arkansas after being dropped?
In most cases, yes. Carrier appetite varies widely, and a home declined by one company is frequently inside another’s guidelines — especially through an independent agency with access to multiple markets, including carriers that specialize in homes standard companies decline. The important thing is to start before your current policy expires rather than after.
Can my insurer drop me in Arkansas just for filing a hail or storm claim?
Arkansas law says no, not on that basis alone. Under Ark. Code § 23-63-109, a property policy cannot be cancelled or its renewal denied solely as a result of claims arising from natural causes, and the Arkansas Insurance Department has directed carriers not to count such claims when evaluating loss history for cancellation or non-renewal. That protection has limits: if your roof’s condition no longer meets the carrier’s underwriting guidelines, that is a separate and legitimate ground, and compliance is assessed case by case. If your letter cites weather claims and nothing else, it’s worth raising. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much notice does an Arkansas insurer have to give before non-renewal?
At least 30 days before your existing term expires. Under Ark. Code § 23-88-105, except for nonpayment of premium, the insurer must give either a written notice of nonrenewal or an offer of renewal at least 30 days ahead. Mid-term cancellation is different: after a policy has been in force more than 60 days it generally requires at least 20 days’ written notice, or 10 days when the cancellation is for nonpayment.
Why do insurance companies drop homeowners for roof age?
Roof losses are the largest and most frequent property claim in Arkansas, driven by hail and severe convective storms. Many carriers now limit the roof age they’ll write, or shift older roofs to a depreciated settlement instead of full replacement cost. An inspection showing granule loss or prior hail damage can trigger non-renewal even with no claims filed. More on old roofs and Arkansas claims.
What happens if my homeowners insurance lapses?
Two things, both bad. Your mortgage lender will force-place coverage, which typically costs several times a normal policy and protects only the lender’s interest — not your belongings and not your liability. And the lapse itself becomes a rating factor that can raise your premium and close preferred markets to you for years. Bind replacement coverage before the expiration date, even if you have to overlap by a day.
Does being non-renewed hurt my ability to get insurance later?
Far less than a lapse does. A non-renewal followed immediately by new coverage is a common and manageable history. What genuinely damages your position is going uninsured in between, or accumulating additional claims while shopping. Replace the coverage first, then work on the underlying reason — a roof replacement or a clean claim year typically reopens the standard market.
Should I just take whatever policy I can get?
Get covered first, but don’t stop there. Replacement policies written in a hurry often carry a higher all-peril deductible, a percentage wind and hail deductible, or actual cash value roof settlement instead of replacement cost — differences that only surface at a claim. Understand your wind and hail deductible before you sign, and plan to re-shop once the underlying issue is resolved.
How fast can Cribb place coverage after a non-renewal?
Usually quickly, and faster if you send documents up front — your current declarations page, roof age and any replacement invoice, and a five-year claim history. Call (479) 286-1066 or start a home quote. If your expiration date is close, say so when you call and we’ll work it in that order.
Related Arkansas homeowners guides.
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Send us the letter. We’ll take it from there.
Forward the non-renewal notice and your current declarations page and we’ll tell you what the stated reason actually means, which of our carriers write homes in your situation, and what it will take to get you bound before the expiration date. If the answer is that you should fix the roof first and re-shop, we’ll tell you that too.
This article is general information about homeowners insurance non-renewal in Arkansas. It is not legal advice, not a coverage determination, and not an offer of insurance. Statutory references — including Ark. Code §§ 23-88-105 (notice prior to expiration), 23-66-206 (unfair property or casualty policy cancellation), 23-63-109 (natural causes), 23-63-110 (claims not resulting in loss to the insurer), and 23-67-401 et seq. (credit-based insurance scoring) — are summarized and simplified for a general audience, are subject to amendment, and are reproduced here in substance rather than in full statutory text. Subdivision numbering within § 23-66-206 has been amended over time. Whether any provision applies to your policy depends on the specific facts and, as the Arkansas Insurance Department has noted regarding § 23-63-109, is determined on a case-by-case basis. Confirm your rights with the Arkansas Insurance Department or qualified counsel before acting on anything published here, including this page. Nothing on this page should be read as a determination that a particular cancellation or non-renewal was unlawful.
Underwriting guidelines, roof age limits, claim-frequency thresholds, and carrier appetite are set by individual insurance companies, vary by carrier and over time, and are subject to underwriting approval and eligibility. Availability of replacement coverage is not guaranteed. Coverage is subject to policy terms, conditions, exclusions, and the limits of the policy actually issued to you.
Market and rate figures described here are as reported by the cited sources and have not been independently verified against primary regulatory filings. The premium range shown reflects bundled homeowners policies placed through Cribb Insurance Group across our Northwest Arkansas markets, is a planning range rather than a quote, is not carrier-specific, and is not a guarantee of your rate. Individual premiums vary by dwelling replacement cost, roof age and material, deductible structure, claim history, protection class, and other rating factors.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas. Last reviewed July 2026.