For property and liability insurance, a cancellation notice usually must be sent to the policyholder several days prior to the effective date of cancellation. The notice period will be stated in the policy, and for personal auto, homeowners and sometimes other types of insurance, state law usually requires at least 10 days advance written notice. If you make your payment before the cancellation date, you will be able to retain your coverage. For life, health and other disability insurance, state law often requires insurers to allow a "grace period" of as much as 30 days after a premium payment is due before coverage can be terminated. If payment is not made within the grace period, however, these types of coverage usually will terminate retroactively to the date the premium payment was due without any further cancellation notice from the company.

If your coverage terminates or is canceled because you missed a premium payment, some insurance companies may agree to "reinstate" your coverage if you make all past due payments and you certify that you are not aware of any losses that have occurred since the cancellation date. Reinstatement is discretionary by the insurance company. The law usually does not require that policies be reinstated once they have been legally canceled.