The Land of Lincoln is one of the biggest and most diverse of the states and had a population of approaching thirteen million people in 2010. With a significant 10.9% of those as Spanish speakers, and also one of the biggest Polish speaking communities (1.6% of the total) of all the States.
The largest city in Illinois, by a considerable margin, is Chicago, but there are also big urban developments in the cities of Aurora, Rockford, Joliet, and the Capital City (Of which Homer Simpson would be proud!) Springfield.
But of those 13 million people that live in Illinois, approximately 9.5 million live in the metropolitan area surrounding Chicago, so when we talk about Illinois Home Insurance in large measure we are really talking about Chicago Home Insurance.
Chicago had a reputation in the early 20th Century as being a haven for organised crime bosses such as Al Capone; and despite well-documented attempts to clean up the city there are still big problems with crime in Chicago, despite big strides being made.
In 1974 there were 970 murders in Chicago, but by 2010 that had fallen to 435, the lowest rate in 50 years. However, despite these clear improvements, the city of Chicago is still one of the most violent in the country, and the levels of property crime are very high.
For these reasons alone it makes sense to get some good quality, comprehensive Illinois Home Insurance that can protect your property in Chicago, or one of the other cities in Illinois.
What are Average Illinois Home Insurance Rates?
Somewhat surprisingly (given the crime rates), average Illinois Home Insurance rates are actually amongst the lowest in the country. With the US Census Bureau posting official data for average rates of home insurance across the country, and showing that in 2008 the average premium for homeowners insurance in Illinois was $628.
This compares very favourably to states like Florida ($1,390) and Texas ($1,460); but is higher than states such as Delaware ($535) and Utah ($432).
The discrepancy can be accounted for by the fact that Illinois does not suffer from the wealth of natural disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes that Florida and Texas do, but does have higher property crime rates (at least in the big cities like Chicago) than most places in Delaware or Utah for example, which also don’t suffer from high levels of storm damage.
The fact is that when it comes to home insurance where you live has a much bigger impact on the final price of your premium then just about any other type of factor. Hence you can live in a wonderfully peaceful suburb of Florida, but still end up paying more for your home insurance then a rough and tumble neighbourhood in Chicago, simply because whilst the crime rate may considerably more, the chances of a storm like Hurricane Katrina ripping through and destroying everything are minimal.
So, getting a comprehensive Illinois home insurance policy that doesn’t cost you the earth is a significantly easier undertaking then for your counterparts in Florida or Texas!
Just be sure to get a wide variety of Illinois Home Insurance Quotes so that you can compare exactly what is available, and get the deal that you deserve.
