Whether you have a home in the Capital of Missouri, Jefferson City, or one in the larger cities of Saint Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Independence or Columbia it should still be high on your priority list to make sure that you get some comprehensive Missouri Home Insurance sorted out.
The reasons are very simple. Homeowner insurance is not a luxury item (despite the high cost!) It is a necessity, in the same way that having water or electricity piped into your homes are necessities. And whilst the costs of those have also risen, the plain facts are that we still need to use them.
The average cost of a home in Kansas City, Missouri was $197,727 in Dec 2011, so it is clear that the potential costs if you DON’T have cover are considerable.
On the flip side of that, the average Missouri Home Insurance cost according to US Government statistics was $788 a year, and whilst that is still a sizable amount of money to find, it is certainly far less than buying a new home!
You will often find that if you have a mortgage that the bank will in any case insist on you having at least enough cover to cover the cost of rebuilding the whole building, so it makes sense to shop around at the same time and actually get some cover that is good for you.
Generally you will find that it will cover not only the cost of replacing the main building, but often also outbuildings.
Additionally, you will find that it will cover personal property in the home (though check the amounts of cover for valuables like cash, fur coats and cameras, as you will often find that there is a considerable disparity between policies), living expenses if you have to rebuild your home (for example in the event of a fire), cover for legal expenses if someone gets harmed in your home and then decides to sue you, and the costs of medical treatment for individuals who are harmed in your home (but only if they don’t pursue legal action).
One area that is worth mentioning is that Floods are virtually NEVER included in Missouri Home Insurance policies, and so if you reside in the Bootheel region of Missouri near a flood plain, then you may want to consider taking out an additional amount of Flood Insurance separately.
A few considerations about factors that may affect the cost of your premiums:
1/ The Type of Construction – Brick houses are generally cheaper to insure, and you will find that a wooden framed home will more expensive.
2/ How old your home is – Depending on the age of your home you may find it more difficult to insure. It tends to be the case that newer homes are cheaper to insure. The reasons being that they inevitably have newer electrical systems, new plumbing, newer roofs and there are simply far fewer things that can potentially go wrong.
3/ Local Fire Services – This is not a factor that it is easy to control! But if you live near to a fire station or a fire hydrant, then the likely cost of you Missouri Home Insurance policy will diminish, and if you live in an area without these, then it will likely be higher than the average.
There are a lot of different factors that come into play when deciding on which Missouri Home Insurance Plan to buy, but it is nevertheless worth persisting until you arrange a policy that finally protects you and your home properly.
