All About Policy Moratoriums

Published on: August 4, 2021

As we enter the height of hurricane season, now is the perfect time to brush up on TWIA policy moratoriums – and ensure you have the coverages you need. During a moratorium, TWIA is unable to issue any new policies or increase coverage on existing policies/renewals.

Please take a moment to review the ins and outs of policy moratoriums, below. If you’re interested to learn more, visit www.twia.org/moratoriums.

What is the best way to submit a payment if a moratorium is expected?

When a moratorium is expected, we recommend submitting payments electronically. Not only are electronic submissions timely, but they create a timestamp TWIA can use to determine the coverage effective date. Only agents are able to submit applications to TWIA and they must always do so electronically through Policy Center.

TWIA must receive both the application and the payment before we can issue new policies or increase coverage on existing/renewal policies.

Recommended Submission Options for Agents and Policyholders:

  • Agents: Submit applications through Policy Center and payments through eCheck or EFT.
  • Policyholders: Your agent must submit the application. We also recommend having them handle the payment when a moratorium is expected.
    • If you wish to pay TWIA directly, submit payment online through eCheck (free) or credit card (vendor processing fees apply). There may be a lag of several hours between when the agent submits the application and when the transaction becomes available for payment online. For this reason, we recommend having your agent handle the payment when a moratorium is expected.

Visit www.twia.org/payments to learn more about payment options for both agents and policyholders.

When does a TWIA policy moratorium go into effect?

The short answer is: when there’s a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.

The technical answer, as outlined in our Plan of Operation, is:

  1. When a storm is designated as a hurricane by the NOAA National Weather Service or NOAA National Hurricane Center, and
  2. The designated hurricane is within the Gulf of Mexico or the boundaries of 80 degrees west longitude and 20 degrees north latitude.

How and when is a TWIA policy moratorium lifted?
For TWIA to lift a policy moratorium, the TWIA General Manager must determine the storm no longer threatens property anywhere within the TWIA coverage area. Once this occurs, TWIA will lift the moratorium at 12:01 a.m. the next day. At that time, TWIA will begin processing applications and payments received during the moratorium. The earliest date policies can go into effect is at 12:01 a.m. the day the moratorium is lifted.

Where does a moratorium apply?
To the entire TWIA coverage area, regardless of projected storm path.

Contact Us
If you have any questions about policy moratoriums, or anything else, please let us know. Our Policy Services team is available at agentservices@twia.org or (800) 788-8247.