PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — An emergency order that blocks insurance companies from issuing notices of non-renewal or cancellation to those in hurricane affected areas expires on Tuesday.

The emergency order was in effect from September 26 until December 10. After this period, insurance companies can continue with standard practices.

Mike Yaworsky, Insurance Commissioner for the State of Florida, says while the order expires this week there’s a process that must take place before a homeowner, for example, can be dropped by their insurer.

The insurance company must give timely notice and the homeowner will get a legally triggered series of notices in the mail.

“One of the things to keep in mind is that anytime an insurer cancels more than 5,000 policies at a time, they have to give us notice,” Yaworsky said. “We then subject that to a lot of additional scrutiny to make sure they’re not doing anything considered contrary to Florida law.”

Yaworsky said if a policy holder feels a cancellation or non-renewal isn’t fair or you can't find a new policy, to report the issues to the Office of Insurance Regulation by calling 850-413-3140 or sending an email with related documentation to HU-PCMR@FLOIR.com.

While getting non-renewed or dropped by an insurer can be a big source of frustration, Yaworsky says the insurance market is a lot more competitive in Florida that it has been in recent years.

“Ultimately it’s a much better marketplace,” he said. "We have 10 new entrants to our marketplace and our legacy carriers who are writing again. There are options to our consumers today that weren’t there a couple of years ago.”

Yaworsky says that’s partially due to recent policies that cut back on litigation abuse in the insurance market.

He also recommends if you have made major upgrades to your home to take a look at different insurance policies, because you might have additional credits that would drive the price down.