Escrow accounts make it easy to pay for home insurance while also giving you the comfort of knowing your premiums are being paid on time every month. But the hands-off nature of escrow accounts can also make it easy to forget that you even have homeowners insurance — much less how to change policies.
Fortunately, changing homeowners insurance paid through escrow isn’t difficult. Follow our 5-step guide below to learn more.
How does homeowners insurance escrow work?
An escrow account is the part of your mortgage where your lender deposits a portion of your monthly payment for expenses that are tied to your home loan.
Under escrow terms, you make a single monthly payment to your lender. A portion of this payment goes toward your monthly mortgage payment, and the rest is deposited into your escrow account. Your bill will clearly state how much of your payment is going toward paying off the house and how much is going into your escrow account.
Here’s an example.
Let’s say you buy a house for $400,000 with 4% interest and a $50,000 down payment. In addition to the cost of the house itself, you’ll need to pay property taxes, home insurance, and, because the down payment is less than 20% of your loan, you’ll need private mortgage insurance(PMI). That means you’ll have the following monthly expenses:
Principal and interest payment: $1,671
Property tax: $300
Homeowners insurance: $70
PMI: $115
Total monthly payment: $2,156
Your mortgage lender collects the total $2,156 every month, putting everything that is owed for taxes and insurance into a separate escrow account. Then the bank uses the funds in your escrow account to send quarterly payments to both insurance companies and your local government to pay for property taxes, private mortgage insurance, and homeowners insurance.
How do you change homeowners insurance with an escrow account?
Changing homeowners insurance providers with an escrow account isn’t any harder than if you were paying for insurance yourself, but there are a couple of additional variables to consider.
If you’re thinking about switching to a new company, you should also have an understanding of what everyone involved — you, your insurance company, and your mortgage lender — need to do to get your new policy up and running.
1. Gather information about your home and current policy
To save yourself some time during the application process, make sure to gather information about your home, like its square footage and heating type, and grab your current policy’s declarations page so you’re able to provide coverage limits for a quote estimate.
2. Compare quotes from several companies
Be sure to compare home insurance quotes from at least three different insurance companies. Getting quotes from multiple companies gives you the opportunity to size up each company and policy option and provide a sufficient comparison against your current home insurance.
A licensed policycentral expert can help you compare quotes with multiple top companies, cancel your old policy, and get your new policy set up with your lender and escrow account.
3. Notify your mortgage lender of the switch
Since your insurance is being paid through an escrow account, you’ll want to notify your lender of the switch so they can direct the escrow company to stop making payments to your old insurer. It’s also possible that your new insurance company will contact your lender on your behalf.
4. Finalize your new policy and cancel your old one
As soon as you finalize your new homeowners insurance and have an official start date, contact your current insurer so they can set a cancellation date on your current policy. To safeguard against any lapses in coverage or uninsured property damage, make sure your current policy’s cancellation date is the same day as your new policy’s effective date.
Once you cancel your old policy, the insurance company may send both you and your mortgage company a cancellation notice confirming an end date to your policy. If you paid your premiums for the year in full and you canceled it before the end of the policy term, the insurance company should issue you a refund check for any unused premiums.
5. Let your mortgage company do the rest
Once you’ve notified all interested parties of the switch, your lender will likely provide your insurance information to the escrow company so they can begin directing payments to your new insurer.
Keep in mind that during this time, your escrow account may incur a shortage, or maybe you’ll have an overage, so your monthly mortgage payments may fluctuate based on your account standing.
Does changing home insurance in escrow cost any money?
Regardless of whether you change your homeowners insurance at renewal or in the first couple months of your policy term, you shouldn’t incur any switchover fees. Some insurance companies may charge you a cancellation fee for a small amount, like $25, but even this is fairly rare.
One thing to keep in mind is mortgage lenders will often bill you for more than what you actually owe in insurance and taxes for the following month. They do this to prevent your account from shorting in the event of unexpected insurance and tax increases. For that reason, escrow payments are generally more expensive than paying your insurance or taxes directly.
Will my escrow payment decrease if I find cheaper home insurance?
Your escrow payment would likely decrease if you find cheaper home insurance elsewhere. But it all depends on the timing of when you switch companies.
For example, say you find cheaper home insurance, but at the same time your property taxes are set to increase for the following year. That means you might not have a lower escrow payment, since your higher taxes offsets what you’re saving on home insurance.
In either event, your lender will conduct a yearly escrow review and adjust your escrow payment based on your insurance and property tax rate changes. Your lender may then send you an escrow review statement that explains the changes to your insurance and taxes.
You can also lower your escrow payment by canceling your PMI coverage once your loan balance is less than 80% of your home’s original value.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay my homeowners insurance through escrow?
Mortgage lenders often require escrow accounts for insurance and property taxes if your down payment is less than 20% of the home’s sale price. If a year or two passes and your account is in good standing with no missed payments, you may be able to get rid of your escrow account via an escrow waiver or cancellation form provided by your lender.
Should I keep my homeowners insurance after I pay off my mortgage?
Yes, financial and insurance experts recommend you keep your home insurance policy even after you’ve paid off your mortgage and it’s no longer required. Home insurance provides crucial financial protection in case your home is damaged by a fire, hurricane, snow storm, tornado, or other catastrophe. Without home insurance, you’d be on the hook for paying to rebuild your home or replace your belongings out of pocket.
Home insurance also protects you from expensive lawsuits and settlements in the event that you’re sued and found liable for damages. Without home insurance, all of your financial assets would be on the line in the event of a lawsuit.
