Comparing the Average Home Owners Insurance Rates By State -
Can You Get It Cheaper?
Homeowners insurance rates vary widely by
state. If you are considering moving, the cost of insuring your
home may be a factor to consider. Here are some comparisons and
interesting facts about homeowners insurance in America.
The most expensive state to insure your home in may surprise you, it's Texas.
The average price of homeowners insurance in Texas is about 58% higher than in
Florida, which is also one of the higher priced states. According to Forbes magazine
the average homeowners insurance in Texas is $1,238. The reason for this is the
large amount of claims due to hail and wind damage. You may think, "what
about the hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods in other disaster prone states?'.
Well, the cost for those things are not factored into the average homeowners
insurance policy. People in those areas have to purchase separate insurance policies
for those things.
Another expensive state is, as we mentioned before, Florida. Because of the high
occurrence of hurricanes and water related damage, Florida is one of the most
expensive places to get insurance. In fact, some insurance companies will not
even offer homeowners insurance in Florida. One thing to keep in mind though,
is your location. If you are directly on the beach or relatively close, your
rates are going to be higher. Some people on the coast can pay as much as $10,000
annually. However, if you live inland in say, Orlando or Tampa, your costs could
be cut by more than half. As they say, location, location, location!
Louisiana is another expensive state for homeowners insurance. Because of the
regular storms that batter the state each year, it can be hard for residents
to even get insurance. The average policy is $840 per year. Mississippi also
has a number of hurricanes and also tornadoes that make it a high risk state
for insurance companies. This is another state that can be difficult to get homeowners
insurance in. Oklahoma and Kansas are also high dollar states because they have
so many tornadoes and hail storms, that the damage can be astronomical.
Snow is another factor in homeowners insurance rates. New York is one of the
more expensive states, because the white stuff does serious damage to rooftops.
Throw in the high cost of everything in New York and you come up with top dollar
premiums. Alaska has surprisingly high rates also. This is due in part to the
amount of snow, but also the amount of rain especially in the coastal areas.
The state with the cheapest homeowners insurance premium is Wisconsin. To determine
if your state is one of the cheaper ones, try to think about risk from your insurance
company's perspective. If you live in an area with a lot of natural disasters
such as hurricanes, tornadoes, high winds, snow or hail damage, or flooding your
costs will be higher than someone in say, Ohio who does not face quite so much
of Mother Nature's wrath.
Final word, if you live in a high risk area, contact your insurance company to
see if there are things that you can do to make your home less of a risk. Many
companies offer discounts for upgrades like storm shutters and reinforced walls.
It never hurts to ask, and you may save some cash in the process.
