Weathering the Storms: Kansas Home Insurance
Wherever you live in Kansas, it’s not the Land of Oz, and you’ll know that all too well if you don’t adequately protect your home from all that Mother Nature can deliver. Kansas home insurance is straightforward in some aspects, but there are a lot of quotes out there, and a lot of factors to consider –not least of which is the weather. You can search the dozens of companies offering home insurance quotes yourself, or you can let NetQuote find the best rates for wherever you live in the Free State.
The Basics: Home Insurance in Kansas
To find the Kansas home insurance quotes that give you adequate protection at the right price, you’ll need to fully understand the coverage and limits that best suit your needs. Your square footage, possessions, and loss history are some of the starting points, but take the time to note all of the characteristics of your residence that can drive Kansas home insurance quotes down. Dead-bolt locks and fire extinguishers can make a difference, as can your home’s location in relation to the fire department. Perhaps more than in other states, Kansas home insurance is heavily influenced by fire criteria. Kansas gives every town a Fire Protection Ranking, which refers to each town’s capability to fight fires. Class 1 is most capable, Class 10 is least. In Allen County, a policy for $150,000 cost between $594 and $2,100 for Class 3; it jumps to $804 to $2,706 for Class 10.
Levels of Home Insurance
Home insurance in Kansas falls under five categories:
- HO1: The lowest level for homeowners; it’s likely that lenders will require this minimum coverage.
- HO2: More coverage, with specific issues delineated.
- HO3: The highest level for homeowners; recommended for extreme weather concerns.
- HO4: Renters insurance; covers your possessions, but not the dwelling.
- HO5: Condominium insurance; covers the owner’s property.
Extreme Weather Alert
You’ve probably experienced the blizzards that can turn the town white in the winter, and the heavy rains that pour from the sky in warmer weather. But most of all, you’ll want to think about tornadoes when choosing your home insurance policy. Kansas ranks in the top three in the country in both frequency of tornadoes and monetary damages. This could mean that the location of your home, and its exposure to such storms, raises the Kansas home insurance quotes you find. It also means you should consider extra coverage, since many homeowner policies won’t adequately compensate you for extreme weather damages. The deductibles for wind and hail damage are usually 1-2% of your home’s value, but can be as high as 5%. Since a higher deductible means a lower premium, residents in Topeka may want to shop around and see their best options for wind damage; Topeka ranks in the top 10 cities in the country for the highest rate of extreme tornadoes per 1,000 square miles.
Many residents also buy federal flood insurance, since home insurance in Kansas does not typically cover floodwater damage. If a pipe breaks and causes a flood in your basement, there’s a good chance your policy will cover the damage. But flooding caused by a storm will fall under FEMA regulations, so it’s important to investigate your federal insurance options.
Those Extra Buildings
About 90% of the land in the breadbasket is dedicated to agriculture. As a result, quite a few people around the state will need to figure in comprehensive coverage for barns and other additional storage facilities when reviewing their Kansas home insurance quotes. Your premium can be affected by the presence of a garage; you can only imagine how additional buildings might affect your overall cost. In fact, possessions that are defined as “business items” are not usually covered in a homeowner policy in Kansas, so looking into additional coverage is a good idea. A free service like NetQuote makes it easy to comparison shop for homeowners insurance, rather than figure out these extras yourself, over and over. And when you have that extra storage space to cover, you’ll want to know the best deals out there.
