Disaster moratoriums on cancellations and nonrenewals

A disaster moratorium is a temporary rule that stops insurers from canceling or nonrenewing homeowners policies in an affected area, usually for a year or less. It comes from a statute, a regulator's emergency order or a regulator's request, and each of those has a different force. A moratorium delays an insurer's decision to leave you. It does not stop the insurer from raising your rate, and it ends on a date you need to know.

Three kinds of moratorium

The word covers three different mechanisms, and which one applies to you changes what you can enforce.

A statute that triggers automatically. California is the example. Under Insurance Code section 675.1(b), once the governor declares a state of emergency for a wildfire, insurers may not cancel or refuse to renew a residential policy in any ZIP code within or adjacent to the fire perimeter for one year, based solely on the fact that the structure is in an area where a wildfire occurred. The Insurance Commissioner issues a bulletin listing the covered ZIP codes. The California Department of Insurance said moratorium actions protected more than 1.2 million homeowners in 2025. See California for the state's other rules.

A regulator's emergency order. In other states the insurance department acts under emergency powers. New Mexico's Superintendent can act under NMSA 59A-2-8 once the governor declares an emergency. After the October 2024 Chaves County floods and the June 2025 Trout Fire, the Office of Superintendent of Insurance required property insurers to give grace periods for premiums and claim filing, waive deductibles, postpone cancellations and nonrenewals, and suspend late fees in the affected areas (see New Mexico). Oregon's Division of Financial Regulation ordered insurers in 2026 to suspend cancellations and nonrenewals and extend payment and claim deadlines in evacuated ZIP codes through October 29, 2026 (see Oregon). An order is binding on insurers licensed in the state for as long as it runs.

A bulletin or notice that asks. Some departments only request restraint. After the 2025 storms, the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance issued Bulletin 25-10 on October 13, 2025, telling insurers not to cancel or nonrenew storm-damaged homes because of claims or property condition. Bulletin 26-09 rescinded that moratorium effective June 1, 2026, though the department still asks insurers to give extra time to owners making good-faith repairs. Bulletins do not carry the force of law, as the Missouri guide notes. After the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, California's Notice 2025-01 asked insurers to pause pending nonrenewals near the fires for six months beyond the mandatory moratorium, which is a request rather than a statutory protection, according to the California Department of Insurance.

The practical question is therefore not whether a moratorium exists but which of the three yours is, and what its text says.

What a moratorium usually covers

Read the order or bulletin for these points, because they differ from state to state and event to event:

• Geography. Often a list of ZIP codes or counties, not the whole state. A home one ZIP code outside the line may get nothing. California's bulletins list ZIP codes in or adjacent to the fire perimeter.
• Duration. California's is one year. New Mexico's and Oregon's emergency orders run until a stated date or until withdrawn. Missouri's bulletin ran about seven and a half months.
• Who is protected. California's applies whether or not your home was damaged. Other orders protect only policyholders whose property was damaged, or only homes in the declared area.
• Which policies. California's statute defines residential property insurance to include owner-occupied one- to four-unit dwellings, condominium units, mobile homes and renters policies. A 2025 law, SB 547, extended the moratorium to certain commercial policies, including homeowners associations, from January 1, 2026.
• Pending notices. Some orders reach back. California's January 2025 bulletin required insurers to offer to rescind wildfire-related nonrenewals issued on or after January 7, 2025 in the covered ZIP codes.

What a moratorium does not stop

This is where homeowners are most often surprised.

1. A nonrenewal for another reason. California's statute bars a cancellation or nonrenewal based "solely" on the wildfire location. Nonpayment, fraud, willful acts that increase the risk, and unrelated losses that make the home ineligible remain valid grounds. Compare nonrenewal vs cancellation of homeowners insurance: your rights and cancellation for nonpayment and reinstatement.
2. A rate increase. Insurers may reprice a policy at renewal. California's total-loss protections let the insurer adjust limits and premium while you rebuild. See rebuilding after a wildfire: the insurance claim.
3. A change in coverage. An insurer may remove an endorsement or change a deductible at renewal within the rules for that state.
4. Coverage after the moratorium ends. The protection is a delay. A nonrenewal that would have taken effect during the moratorium can be issued afterward on the state's normal notice, so the year is time to shop, not a reason to stop.
5. Any other insurer's decision to leave. If your insurer withdraws from the entire state rather than from your ZIP code, the details depend on the state's market-withdrawal law, not the disaster order.

What to do while it applies

Say your ZIP code is covered by a one-year moratorium and your insurer has not sent a notice. The moratorium is a window, and the best use of it is to improve your position before it closes.

1. Get the order in hand. Find the department's bulletin or press release, confirm your ZIP code and the end date, and save a copy with your policy.
2. Check your notices. If you got a nonrenewal or cancellation before or during the moratorium, write to the insurer, cite the bulletin, and ask for rescission. If it does not reply, file a complaint with the department; see how to file a complaint with your state insurance department.
3. Keep paying. A moratorium does not forgive the premium. Many orders add grace periods for payment, but nonpayment is a valid ground for cancellation unless the order says otherwise.
4. Document the property. Photos, repair invoices and mitigation work help any later application. The hurricane and wildfire season insurance checklist lists what to gather.
5. Shop in months, not weeks. Ask an independent agent for quotes well before the end date. Wildfire work such as defensible space and ember-resistant vents can change what carriers will write; see owning a home in a wildfire area: keeping your coverage.
6. Know your fallback. Look up the state's FAIR plan and how it pairs with other policies, in Difference in conditions policies to pair with a FAIR plan, before you need them.
7. Calendar the end date and the notice period your state requires after it. The nonrenewal action plan works backward from a deadline.

How moratoriums are debated

Consumer advocates argue that a disaster is the worst time to lose coverage, because a home that is damaged, unrepaired or newly in the news cannot be re-insured easily, and a lender may place expensive coverage on the mortgage. Insurers and some analysts respond that a rule barring exits in high-risk areas can leave a company holding more exposure than it can price, and may make insurers hesitate to write in those areas at all. Regulators, who weigh both views, have mostly used time-limited moratoriums so that policyholders get a pause and the market has a chance to adjust. A moratorium that works as a bridge has done what it was built to do. One that is mistaken for permanent protection leaves owners unprepared on the last day.

Key takeaways

• A moratorium is temporary and covers a defined area. Find the actual statute, order or bulletin and check your ZIP code and the end date.
• Only statutes and regulator orders bind insurers. A bulletin that asks for restraint may not, and Missouri's was rescinded effective June 1, 2026.
• Moratoriums generally bar nonrenewal or cancellation based on the disaster. They do not stop nonpayment cancellations, rate increases or changes at renewal.
• If you received a notice that falls under the moratorium, cite the order in writing and complain to the department if the insurer does not rescind it.
• Use the protected period to shop, document repairs and line up a fallback, because the nonrenewal can arrive when it ends.