What Happens If I Miss a Car Insurance Payment?

WV & OH ONLY

"I missed my car insurance payment in West Virginia or Ohio. Am I still covered, and how long do I have before they cancel me?"

Money gets tight for everybody at some point. Let's keep this from getting worse.

If you miss a car insurance payment, the company can cancel your policy after sending written notice, which must be at least 14 days in West Virginia and at least 10 days in Ohio. Those days go fast, so read the date on your notice, pay before it if you can, and call us if you can't.

Insurance could use more slack and a lower price, and I'd give you both if I could. We want you covered and on the best rate we can find.

Companies handle late payments in their own ways, and some are less forgiving than others. If one missed payment turns into a cancellation, we can compare 13 companies to get you covered again, including ones used to writing people in that spot.

Full disclosure, this post exists to get you on the phone. A late payment is a lot easier to deal with before the cancellation date than after it. Call while there's still a date to beat.

WV & OH ONLY

Don't plan on one. West Virginia's insurance commissioner answers that question with a flat no and says the company needs your premium on or before the due date.

What the law gives you is a notice period before a company can cancel for nonpayment. That's different from a grace period. Your payment is still late, and your policy may charge you for it.

Under West Virginia Code 33-6A-1:

• The company must give at least 14 days' notice before canceling for nonpayment.
• The notice goes by first class mail to the address on your application, or by email or other electronic means if you asked for that.
• You can meet the deadline by mailing valid payment, first class, on or before the last day of the notice period.

That address part matters. If you moved and didn't tell anyone, the letter still went where it was supposed to go.

That one is different in West Virginia. If you don't make your first payment on a new policy, the same law says the policy is voidable back to the day it was issued. The company has to send written notice that it will be voided unless you pay within ten days. If that happens, it can be as though you never had the coverage.

Under Ohio Revised Code 3937.32, a company must give at least ten days' notice, counted from the date of mailing, before canceling for nonpayment. That notice can come along with your bill, as long as the cancellation doesn't take effect before the due date.

So look closely at your bill. The cancellation warning may already be on it.

The Ohio Department of Insurance's guide adds something people don't expect: if you're late, the company can choose to accept or reject your payment.

Until the cancellation date on the notice arrives and your policy ends, that policy is generally still in force. After that date, you have no coverage. Read your own notice and call if you aren't sure which side of that date you're on.

Call right away. Don't assume a payment you send now puts things back the way they were. A company may reinstate you, possibly with a gap, or it may not. You need to find out which before you drive.

If it was a West Virginia renewal you didn't pay, there's one more thing to know. West Virginia Code 33-6A-4 says the company has to reinstate a policy that wasn't renewed for that reason if you apply within 45 days of the original expiration date and no other grounds for nonrenewal exist. The coverage isn't retroactive to that expiration date, so you'd still have a gap.

It can. A cancellation for nonpayment and a gap in coverage are the kinds of things companies notice when you apply somewhere else. Every company weighs them differently. We have a post on common insurance mistakes if you want to see what else to avoid.

• Keep your address and email current with the company
• Check that your card on file hasn't expired
• Ask whether your due date can move closer to payday
• Open anything that looks like it came from your insurance company

Got a notice on the counter? Call me today and read me the date.

WV & OH ONLY

Next in the series: Part 34, Is It Better to Use an Independent Insurance Agent? Does It Cost More?