Home Insurance Forum

About four years ago my wife and I had a foreclosure on our home. We recently obtained a mortgage for a new home only to find out after building, closing, and settling in that we are being denied homeowners insurance due to poor credit history. We both have good jobs and are in the process of clearing our credit history with the agencies, but what can we do in the meantime?

Robert, North Carolina

Dear Robert,

There are several steps you can take. First, keep shopping around. As long as your house is insurable, there is probably an insurance company willing to write you a policy. Check with an independent agent. You can find one by visiting the Independent Insurance Agents of America's home page or by looking in the yellow pages.

Ask your mortgageholder if it will insure your home. If it does offer insurance, it shouldn't have a problem writing you a policy based on your credit history since it was willing to write you a mortgage.

You can also give the North Carolina Department of Insurance a call to see what it advises. You'll find the department's address, phone number, and a link to its Web site on our main North Carolina page.

If you've exhausted all of these steps and had no success, ask your agent about getting a policy through the North Carolina FAIR Plan. The FAIR Plan is the insurer of last resort and consequently, it will be more expensive than a private insurer.

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