Help! All my policies expire on different dates

A common request we hear from prospective clients is that their policies all expire on different dates, or they want to move their expiration dates to not be January 1st, Christmas (seriously, our founder’s old business policies expired 12/25…) or some other inconvenient time. The good news is there are multiple ways to fix this!

Least practical: bind new coverage and cancel the old policy

Although permissible, we usually advice against this for various reasons. It can create liabilities, result in lack of coverage, or conflict if a claim happens near the cancellation date. Many policies also include language to ensure that early cancellations result in penalities versus a purely prorated cancellation refund schedule.

Using longer policy periods

Many carriers will write a policy for 9 months, 15 months, or other periods, you just need to ask. A good insurance agent can look at your multiple policies and put together a strategy. Recently Beltex was able to assist a business by issuing a 14.5 month policy, renewing one on the standard yearly term, then cancelling another policy after 11 months to properly line up. Now that business owner only has to go through the headache of renewals once per year.

Important considerations

Before rushing in to make the changes, make sure you think ahead:

• What are the cancellation terms of your current policies?

• Pick a date in the future for the change over. The Beltex team typically recommends 2-4 weeks total to allow room for any issues. Get the new policies fully established before cancelling the old ones to avoid any gaps in coverage.

• Update clients with new policy information if needed. Typically your clients’ compliance team will reach out based off a 12 month renewal cycle. Make sure and update them with any changes, including pointing out any longer (or shorter) policy periods.