Homeowners policy cancellation required for builders risk insurance Michele Carter asked 1 month ago
Homeowners policy cancellation required for builders risk insurance

I lost my home in the Eaton Fire. I am rebuilding my home. USAA states that I must cancel my active homeowners policy in order to purchase builders risk insurance. The USAA agent also stated that a homeowner cannot carry both homeowners insurance and builders risk insurance at the same time.

Are these statements accurate?

1 Answers
Answer for Homeowners policy cancellation required for builders risk insurance United Policyholders Staff answered 5 days ago
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Hi Michele,

It is certainly a concerning and difficult position for you to be in.

To answer your question, if you cancel their homeowners (HO) policy to move to a Course of Construction/Builders Risk (COC/BR) policy, returning to an HO form later will subject you to new business underwriting. Given the location, this would likely trigger issues related to brush exposure.

On the other hand, a standard homeowners policy is not designed to cover active construction. It may contain relevant exclusions such as vacancy clauses and potential gaps in liability coverage.

USAA is a good company, I could see why you would want to keep the policy, just not sure if it’s realistic. Amir