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Texas insurance glossary

Renewal

A renewal is the insurer offering a new policy period on the existing policy, usually with a revised premium, which takes effect if the offer is accepted and paid.

Sources checked

It is a new agreement, not the old one continuing, and the price is the part that changes. A surcharge from a claim or a conviction usually appears at renewal rather than the moment it happens.

The renewal offer is also the point at which coverage can quietly change — a deductible moved, an endorsement dropped — which is why the new declarations page is worth reading against the old one rather than filing.

If the insurer does not offer one, that is a non-renewal, and it is a different thing from a cancellation with different notice rules behind it.

Sources: TDI — home insurance glossary; TDI — consumer bill of rights for personal automobile insurance (CB005); TDI — automobile insurance guide (CB020). Verified .

A definition, not legal advice and not a quote. Rules and figures change; confirm your own situation against the source named above, or with us, before you act on it. Last checked .

See also

  • Non-renewal A non-renewal is the insurer declining to continue a policy at the end of its term, as distinct from a mid-term cancellation or a declination that never issued at all.
  • Policy period The policy period is the span of time the coverage runs for, shown on the declarations page as a start date and an end date with times attached.
  • Premium A premium is the amount charged for an insurance policy for a stated term, calculated from a carrier’s rates as filed with the Texas Department of Insurance.
  • Surcharge A surcharge is an amount added to an insurance premium for a rated event such as an at-fault crash or a conviction.
  • Lapse A lapse is any period with no auto policy in force, whether the policy was cancelled, not renewed, or simply never paid.

Where this is handled

Knowing what a coverage is called is not the same as knowing what is on your policy. One independent agency can read your declarations page with you and compare the markets that will write your record.

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