Deciding to cancel your insurance is serious business, and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Although different states and companies have differing policies on how to cancel an insurance policy, an insurance cancellation letter is always your safest bet. Few companies like loosing business, so some may make it a bit difficult to cancel your policy. A cancellation letter serves to cancel your policy and you can keep a copy for your records, in the event that the insurance company tries to give you a hard time.

You may be wondering; what exactly is an insurance cancellation letter? Luckily, there are sample insurance cancellation letters online. These examples will make sure that you give the pertinent information to the insurance company. The last thing you want to do is send a letter that doesn’t actually cancel your insurance policy. Basing your letter on a good sample insurance cancellation letter works, because they usually display the common information that most insurance companies need to see. However, to be on the safe side, you should contact the insurance company to see if there is any additional information needed.

Sample insurance cancellation letters provide information such as, why you are deciding to cancel your policy, your address, the type of policy, policy number, and your signature. It is highly important that you sign the letter, preferably in blue or black ink. Sample insurance cancellation letters also ensures that you sound professional. People have a tendency to give too much personal information, without getting to the point. After you have typed or written your cancellation letter; you need to send it to the insurance company. If possible, send the letter by certified mail or fax it to the insurance company; so, you are sure that it was received by the insurance company. You may also want to call the company to verify that there is nothing else that you need to do.

Now, that you understand what an insurance cancellation letter is, and how to cancel your insurance. You need to consider when to cancel your insurance. Thanks to a few devastating national disasters, insurance has become a vital asset. So, you should cancel when you find comparable coverage at a competitive price. Another good reason to cancel insurance is if you discover that you are paying for coverage that you no longer need. For example, most people choose to cancel collision and/or comprehension on their auto insurance when their vehicle becomes more than 5 years old. The important thing to do before canceling your insurance is to make sure that you will be covered when things go wrong.

What Is A Health Insurance Policy?

A health insurance policy is a binding contract issued by an insurance company to an individual or group which promises to pay for health care reasonably required by the policyholder to treat illness or injury. When you apply for insurance and sign an application, you answer questions and provide information about the medical history of anyone who will be covered under the policy. In doing so, you must reveal any serious medical condition or treatment that might reasonably affect the decision by the insurer to undertake the risk associated with providing the coverage.
Can A Health Insurance Company Cancel My Policy For Any Reason?

Generally, insurers cannot arbitrarily cancel an individual's coverage under a policy. Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination based upon race, national origin, gender, or age. Some states also prohibit insurers from canceling health care coverage of people with mental dementia (such as Alzheimer's disease), HIV, or mental illness.

Under What Circumstances Can A Health Insurance Company Cancel My Policy?

Health care insurance policies can be cancelled if there is a material omission or misrepresentation made by a policyholder in the application for coverage. Even if the policy is issued and premiums are paid, the insurer can cancel the policy later if they discover that the policyholder did not disclose significant medical history in the application. The result is that the policy is canceled, the insurer does not have to pay for the care that was rendered, and the premiums paid on the policy are returned to the policyholder (minus a reasonable cost associated with the period of time during which the policy was in force).

Are There Any Time Restrictions On When My Insurance Company Can Cancel My Policy?

Generally, state law and the policy itself provide that the insurer has only 2 years from the date of application to cancel it. If discovery of the omission or misrepresentation occurs after the passage of the 2 year period of "contestability," the insurer is generally out of luck and cannot cancel the policy. After that, an insurer may only be able to contest a claim on the basis of intentional fraud on the part of the policyholder.

Can I Cancel My Health Insurance Policy Without Being Penalized?

Generally, there is no prohibition against policyholders canceling their health insurance coverage or their participation in a health service plan. One major exception to this generality is in the case of Medicare assignments. If a Medicare recipient has chosen to obtain private insurance or HMO coverage involving an assignment of the Medicare benefits to the insurer, the Medicare recipient must apply to the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) before changing insurers or plans. Otherwise, there is no financial penalty for canceling health insurance coverage.

My Insurance Company Has Unfairly Cancelled My Health Insurance Policy: Do I Need An Attorney?

If your insurance company cancels your policy without a justifiable reason for doing so, then you should retain an attorney. Health insurance policies can be extremely detailed and difficult to read. An experienced insurance attorney can explain the policy's complex legal terms and inform you whether you have a case.

Source : http://www.legalmatch.com

[Your Name]
[Your Old Address]

[Date]

Manager
Customer Service Department
[Company Name]
[Company Address]

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re: Change of Correspondence Address
Policy No.: [Your Policy Number]

I wish to inform you that with effective from [Date], I will be moving to my new house at:


[Your New Address]


Please send all correspondence to my new address.

I shall look forward to your reply. Thank you.



Yours truly,

[Your Signature]


[Your Full Name]
[Your Phone Number]

What To Do in a Car Accident

So-called "straight" letters are usually, but not solely issued by title underwriters for matters which are "cured" by the passage of time, even if nothing is done, or for matters which may not actually affect the title to be insured.

The following is a list of common uses for straight letters and the reasons for their issuance as straight letters, as well as some comments on the exceptions themselves:

A) Judgments against persons of a similar name to a party which is out of title which do not appear to be against the party at an address discernable from the abstract of title. First, the judgment was probably cleared by an affidavit at the prior insurer's closing. Or, the judgment expires over a period of time.

B) Where a judgment is "on the head", a straight letter will be offered, however a Performance Letter or Conditional Performance Letter would be more appropriate, unless an escrow was taken, in which case an escrow benefit letter might be used.

C) Another consideration is given to the "Purchase Money Mortgage" rule, where a pre-existing judgment against the purchaser becomes a lien against the property purchased, but is subordinate to a mortgage which is made to finance the acquisition cost of the premises. No letter would be issued from the insurer which handled that mortgage transaction, although a careless reliance on a prior policy for a reissue could cause the issuer of a later policy to miss a judgment, in which case a letter might be appropriate from the later insurer, unless that insurer's policy covered only a mortgage and that mortgage wasn't foreclosed.

D) New York State Franchise Taxes (licensing fees, etc.) against a corporation which is now out of title. Again a statute of limitations for enforcement exists and the form of proof taken at closing may not have been adequate;

E) New York City Corporation Taxes

F) Proofs of Death, Estate Taxes, Etc/.

G) Devolution of Title

H) All other defects in title that would have been cleared at the insurers closing....


The Straight Letter is used as a substitute for a copy of the proofs sufficient to remove the exception, which are obstensibly obtained by the prior company. There are some agencies and companies which have maintained their files in pristine order over the years, and can provide proofs, and others which have taken the attitude that their policy of insurance itself is an adequate substitute for the proofs. The latter companies spend more time issuing letters of indemnity than necessary.

Did you recently move to another state? Have you decided your insurance company is no longer right for you? Perhaps you simply feel you don't need to drive anymore.

In any case, you need to specifically inform your insurance company that you're canceling your coverage — or else at the end of the policy period, you may owe your insurance company some money.

Most auto insurance policies say that you, the insured, can cancel your policy at any time during the policy period by sending a written notice stating the effective date of cancellation. That sounds reasonable enough, but what happens if you decide to switch companies at the end of the policy term? Doesn't your policy automatically terminate at the end? The answer is no.

No fine print to read

There are two important things you must know if you don't inform your insurance company of your decision to terminate, even if it's at the end of your policy period. First, the insurance company will send you a bill for your next premium payment. Second, when it doesn't hear from you, the insurance company is going to formally cancel your policy because you failed to pay your premiums on time — and that will go on your credit report.

If your car insurance policy is canceled, it may haunt your insurance future. Cancellation is a red flag for insurance companies looking at prospective customers. If an insurer sees on your claims history that you've recently been canceled, even if your credit rating is good, that may be the basis for denying your coverage or charging you a steep rate as a risky applicant.

What to do

In order to avoid the mess that comes with being canceled, here's what you should do. Call your agent or the insurance company and inform them that you wish to cancel your coverage. Be sure to let them know the date, because if you're not specific, you may end up unwittingly driving around without insurance. Your insurer will then send you a cancellation-request form. The form will likely have all the information filled out when you get it, so you only need to sign it. Take care, however, to look over the information that your agent or the company filled in; mistakes do happen.

In addition, if you switch insurers and fail to formally cancel your previous policy, you're going to have to prove to your former insurance company that you have new coverage. Typically, all you need to do this is send a copy of either your current insurance identification card or the front page of your new premium statement. Make sure that the document has your name and your current policy number on it, and send it along with the cancellation form. Of course, if you've moved to a state in which auto insurance is not required, you don't have to prove you have new coverage.

You'll likely receive confirmation by mail that your cancellation request has been processed.

Source : http://www.insure.com

Here's a mistake we hear about from time to time: Joe decides to take our advice and reduce the number of credit cards he has in his wallet. So he goes and cuts up a few of his cards and tosses them in the trash.

Good for him, right? Well, yes.

But Joe needs to take one more step.

Here's the problem: Cutting up your credit cards doesn't close the accounts–you actually have to let the credit bureaus know that you've closed the accounts. And if the accounts aren't closed, you may hurt your chances of getting credit in the future because it will appear that you've got open credit lines from those old cards.

Dolan Smart Money Move: To close a credit card account, simply send a letter with your name, address and account number to the credit card company, asking them to close the account. The point is to show credit rating agencies that you are canceling and not being canceled by the card company because you're a deadbeat.

We want to make this as easy as possible so we've written one for you. To make your point clear, use our form letter below to write to the company:

Credit Card Cancellation Letter

[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]

Dear Sir or Madam:

Please let this letter serve as notice that I am terminating my credit card account effective immediately. Please close the following account:

Credit Card Company: ____________
Account Number: ________________

Please send me written confirmation that my account has been closed. Also, please confirm that you have notified all appropriate credit card bureaus that this account was closed at my request.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
[Your Signature]

Source : http://www.dolans.com

It’s true there are a lot of fish in the sea and that you’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the handsome prince, so it’s not unheard of that you may want to switch insurance providers. Like in a divorce, the way to do it is as amicably as possible and without hard feelings for either party. So if you’ve decided you want to play the field and go to another insurance agency, before you fly the coop, there are a few things you need to think about first:

– Don’t just stop paying your premium. The insurer will just cancel YOU then, and this will show up on your credit report as an unpaid bill. Maybe a big one, depending on how many months are left on your policy. This will sully your sterling reputation and from henceforth you will be labeled a BAD RISK (read: “deadbeat”) in insurance-land. Whatever company you decide on in the future will then charge you a higher rate – sort of a poetic justice kind of thing. So if you’re going to make the break, be civil about it and at least write them a “Dear John” letter. This will also help to eliminate any confusion and give you a written record to guard against any potential problems with the change. And even if you don’t give a whit, it gives your current provider a little lead time to close out your policy.

– If at all possible (like if you’re not moving out of state), postpone your switch until your current policy comes up for renewal. Otherwise, you will pay a penalty for canceling prematurely. The amount of your penalty depends on how much time is left on your policy: The more months remaining, the higher the penalty. You’ve broken their hearts, and now you’re going to pay for it. Just be glad they’re not suing you for breach of promise and asking for the engagement ring back.

– Don’t change your mind after you commit. The worst thing you can do is buy from one insurer, get a wandering eye, and buy from another right afterward. The first insurer will really get you for premature cancellation, since they’ve only had you covered for such a short time. Hell hath no fury like an insurer scorned.

– Don’t play the field too frequently. Despite rumors to the contrary from spurned policyholders, the insurance biz really does try to maintain an image of trust and good faith. If you’re a company-hopper, no insurer can really get to know you well enough to give you the benefit of the doubt should anything questionable arise in your relationship – kind of like that old lipstick-on-the-collar kind of thing. In this case, it’d be the old dent-in-the-fender story.

If you’re determined you still want to check out that greener-looking grass on the other side of the insurance fence, make sure there's no lapse in your coverage. You want the new company to be waiting in the wings, ready to marry as soon as the divorce is final. Coordinate with your new insurer to guarantee that your new policy takes effect as soon as the old one ends. Never, ever cancel your existing policy until you know exactly when your new one begins. If you leave a gap, that little fender bender you might have while you're uninsured could wipe out any new policy savings you had anticipated, and your old insurer will be snickering all the way to divorce court.

Source : http://www.autoinsurancecompendium.com