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Checked against official sources · Last reviewed October 13, 2026

What homeowners insurance costs in Minnesota: average premium, 2023 $1,988 a year in Minnesota vs. $1,737 countrywide · 11th highest of 51 · All states (HO-3 policies; NAIC)

If your insurer won't renew your policy

Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. 65A.29, subd. 7) says no insurer may refuse to renew a homeowners policy, cut its limits or drop a coverage unless it mails or delivers "at least 60 days' advance notice." The notice "must contain the specific underwriting or other reason or reasons" and must be specific enough to explain the reason "clearly and without further inquiry."

Under 65A.29, subd. 4, and Minnesota Rules part 2880.0400, the notice must also tell you about:

• the possibility of coverage through the Minnesota FAIR plan;
• your right to object to the Commissioner of Commerce; and
• your right to get back unearned premium in some cases.

Allowed reasons. Minnesota Rules part 2880.0200 limits the grounds for nonrenewal. They include the cancellation reasons below, illegal use of the home, violations of local law that increase the chance of loss, refusing to fix a known hazard after two written requests, the insurer leaving Minnesota's homeowners market, property taxes delinquent two or more years, and two or more losses in the past three years. That loss rule does not count losses from "natural causes including but not limited to lightning, wind, or hail," losses the insurer paid nothing on, or losses it recovered 80 percent or more of from someone else.

Claims history. Each insurer must have a plan setting the number and size of claims that may lead to nonrenewal, and it can't count a question about a hypothetical claim or a call to your agent about a possible claim. It can't nonrenew you for loss experience unless it first sent you "a written notice that any future losses may result in nonrenewal due to loss experience." [1][2][8]

Hail and wind: the 2024 changes

A 2024 law (Laws 2024, chapter 114, signed May 21, 2024) added two weather rules to Minn. Stat. 65A.29:

- Nonrenewal after repeated storm claims. An insurer "may refuse to renew" if you had "three or more covered losses each over $10,000 resulting from lightning, wind, rain, or hail" in the five years before the nonrenewal. It must give you 60 days' notice, state the reason and tell you about the Minnesota FAIR plan. Insurers must report to the Commissioner each year how many policies they nonrenewed this way. - Percentage wind and hail deductibles. At the end of a policy period an insurer may offer to switch you to a percentage-based deductible for lightning, wind, rain or hail losses. It must give you at least 60 days' notice that explains the deductible in plain language with an example, and it must offer at least one reasonable flat-dollar deductible instead. If you renew without choosing the percentage deductible, your deductible is the flat-dollar one. [1][3]

If your insurer cancels mid-term

After a homeowners policy has been in effect for 60 days, or once it has been renewed, it can be cancelled only for reasons that must be stated in the notice (Minn. Stat. 65A.01, subd. 3a):

- nonpayment of premium; - misrepresentation or fraud in getting the policy or pursuing a claim; - an act or omission by you that "materially increases the risk originally accepted"; - physical changes to the property that aren't fixed within a reasonable time and make it uninsurable; or - nonpayment of required dues to a non-insurance association.

Notice: at least 30 days before a midterm cancellation, and at least 20 days when the policy is less than 60 days old or the reason is nonpayment. Unearned premium must be returned with the notice or by the cancellation date. When you apply, the insurer must warn you in writing that it "may elect to cancel coverage at any time during the first 59 days" for any reason not prohibited by law. [1][2]

How to challenge a nonrenewal or cancellation

You have two routes under Minn. Stat. 65A.29:

- Appeal a nonrenewal to the Commissioner of Commerce. If the Commissioner finds the nonrenewal "unjustified, arbitrary, or capricious," the Commissioner "shall order the insurer to reinstate" your policy. Your policy "shall continue in force pending the conclusion of the appeal." The insurer must tell you about this right in the nonrenewal notice. - File a written objection within 30 days of getting a notice of nonrenewal, reduced limits, dropped coverage or cancellation that you believe breaks the law or rules. The Commissioner must decide within 30 days of receiving it.

Use the Department of Commerce's complaint page or call (651) 539-1600 (Greater Minnesota (800) 657-3602). [1][6]

Last resort: the Minnesota FAIR Plan

The Minnesota FAIR Plan was "established in 1968 for the purpose of making property insurance available to applicants in Minnesota who have not been able to secure insurance in the standard market." It is an organization of insurers set up under the Minnesota FAIR Plan Act (Minn. Stat. 65A.31 to 65A.42), and every insurer writing property insurance in Minnesota must take part.

- Who can apply: anyone with an insurable interest who "has been canceled, nonrenewed, or otherwise rejected for coverage in the private market." If you have an offer from a standard insurer, you don't qualify. - Any licensed agent must help: an agent "shall not refuse to submit an application" to the plan if licensed and actively writing that insurance. - No denial for condition without an inspection, and neighborhood or area location can't be a reason to decline you. - Policies offered: homeowners (owner-occupied primary residence), renters, condo and townhome owners, dwelling fire, farm fire and commercial fire.

Details are on our Minnesota FAIR Plan page. [4][10][11][12][13]

The market and recent changes

The Department of Commerce publishes no regular homeowners availability report that we could find. What the Legislature has done since 2023:

- 2023: created the Strengthen Minnesota Homes roof grant program and required insurers to give a discount for FORTIFIED homes (Laws 2023, chapter 57). - 2024: the hail and wind nonrenewal and deductible rules above (Laws 2024, chapter 114). - 2025: a law signed June 14, 2025 (Laws 2025, First Special Session, chapter 4) requires your home insurer to send you a copy of your current policy within 21 days of your request (once per policy period). It also created a Task Force on Homeowners and Commercial Property Insurance. - February 13, 2026: the task force's final report recommended that the Legislature fund Strengthen Minnesota Homes, that the Minnesota FAIR Plan study offering more products such as commercial property coverage for multifamily housing and common interest communities, and that the Department of Labor and Industry update building codes for new construction to include elements of the FORTIFIED standards. - 2026 session: House File 4223 would have appropriated $35,000,000 in fiscal year 2026 for Strengthen Minnesota Homes. As of Oct. 13, 2026, its last House action was an April 20, 2026 committee report re-referring it to the Ways and Means Committee. [3][9][14][15][16][17][18]

Discounts and grants for a stronger roof

FORTIFIED discount (required by law). Under Minn. Stat. 65A.298, an insurer "must provide a premium discount or an insurance rate reduction" to an owner who builds a new home, or retrofits an existing one, that IBHS certifies as meeting its Fortified program standards with the hail supplement. You must give the insurer the IBHS certificate first, and at renewal the insurer may ask for proof it's still valid. The discount applies only to policies that include wind coverage, and may apply to the wind part of the premium or to the whole premium. The law doesn't set the size of the discount; ask your insurer.

Strengthen Minnesota Homes grants (status Oct. 13, 2026). This Department of Commerce program helps pay to replace roofs to the FORTIFIED Roof standard. Commerce estimates the grant at $10,000 to $15,000 per qualifying home, which "may not cover the full cost." As of its Oct. 1, 2026 update:

- only a "limited pilot" is running, with the Weatherization Assistance Program, and pilot participants are identified through that process; - Commerce "is not accepting applications from the general public at this time"; - work done before program approval can't be reimbursed, so Commerce says homeowners outside the pilot "should not begin roofing work with the expectation of receiving a future Strengthen Minnesota Homes grant."

Commerce lists pilot eligibility as: a current Weatherization Assistance Program participant who owns a single- or two-family home and allows a FORTIFIED-certified evaluator to inspect it. The law says grants are first-come, first-served and depend on money the Legislature provides. Check the Strengthen Minnesota Homes page for when public applications open. [7][9][14]

Surplus lines homeowners policies

Surplus lines insurers are "nonadmitted": not licensed in Minnesota. State law says a surplus lines broker may not place insurance with a nonadmitted insurer "when coverage is available from a licensed insurer," and it presumes that homeowners insurance on an owner-occupied home worth less than $500,000 is available from a licensed insurer (a 2025 law ended the annual inflation adjustment of that figure). Since the same 2025 law, a surplus lines broker who places homeowners or property insurance on an owner-occupied home must stamp a notice on the face of the policy that "YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR COVERAGE THROUGH THE MINNESOTA FAIR PLAN." [15][19]

Flood is a separate policy

The Department of Commerce lists flood damage among things a homeowners policy doesn't cover: "You need a separate policy." For flood zones and flood insurance, see our sister site FloodHawk. [20]

Where to get help

The Department of Commerce investigates complaints against insurers. Its online complaint portal lets you communicate with the investigator and add documents during the investigation. If you're unsure whether to file, Commerce says to email consumer.protection@state.mn.us or call (651) 539-1600 or (800) 657-3602.

Commerce also says to "Review your homeowner policy every year as coverage changes," and to check with your agent or company each year about changes to storm damage coverage. [6][20]

Questions people ask