ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hundreds of thousands of Florida homeowners got a reprieve this week after threats to downgrade as many as 17 property insurance companies' credit ratings.

Mortgage companies that require an 'A' rating, like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, could default on the mortgages as a result.

Sixteen property insurance companies have already left the state this year, so the delay is temporarily some good news for homeowners for now.

But it likely won't last.

The ratings agency Demotech has delayed its decision on these credit downgrades, but they are still likely.

The state has not released a list of companies it plans to downgrade — although any mortgage held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be impacted.

When the credit downgrades eventually happen, hundreds of thousands of Floridians could be forced to shop for new property insurance and get forced into new more expensive plans with less coverage, or go with citizen's insurance the state's insurance of last resort.

Otherwise, banks could foreclose the mortgage.

Attorney Charles Gallagher III said the situation could cause such a big problem, it might actually be beneficial to homeowners.

"Because we have a such a large, big problem statewide, probably it's an issue the state is going to have to get involved more actively,” said Gallagher. “And probably going to have them requesting from lenders and carriers some cooperation and some flexibility."

But Gallagher says that is not an excuse to not be prepared.

He said homeowners should pull their mortgage, check their paperwork to find out who holds their loan and if they require an 'A' rated property insurance company.

Also, shop around for property insurance, in order to know what's out there ahead of time.