The good news when looking to get affordable Oregon Home Insurance is that it is on average cheaper than most other states, with only Utah and Idaho having cheaper cover according to official figures from the US Census Bureau.
The average cost of Home Insurance in Oregon is just $439, which is less than a third of the average cost in Texas or Florida which are each fast approaching an average cost of $1500 a year.
The reasons for this are down to a combination of factors, but by far the most important and the one that all three of these cheaper states share, is that they suffer from relatively few storms and big weather incidents.
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused over $81 billion worth of property damage, and this simply isn’t sustainable if the insurance companies are going to make a profit. So each time the insurance companies are hit with these costs, they inevitably end up passing them on to the individual policyholders in the state where the storm occurred in the form of higher premiums in subsequent years.
It is no surprise that the three states that were most affected by Hurricane Katrina, Texas, Florida and Louisiana are also the three most expensive states in the United States to buy homeowners insurance according to government statistics.
And Hurricane Katrina is really only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the number of storms that these three states suffer each year; with 2,751 tornadoes between them in 2011, compared to just 151 in Oregon, Utah and Idaho combined in 2011, according to statistics from the National Weather Service.
If then you are looking to get comprehensive Oregon Home Insurance cover then you can do so for far less, and get far more for your money than just about anywhere else.
This fact means that with some careful research you can end up with much better cover that doesn’t cost the earth and which won’t break the bank. But which nevertheless offers far more than most standard home insurance policies would offer in other states for considerably less money.
A ‘typical’ home insurance plan will cover you for five different elements:
First, there is the building itself. So that if it is damaged (or destroyed) by fire for example, then the policy would cover you to rebuild the property.
Second, there is a part that would cover you for the additional outbuildings and garages which were on your land.
Third, there is cover for theft, so that your possessions would be covered in the event that someone was to break in and steal your belongings. With this aspect of Oregon Home Insurance cover it is very important that you take note of exactly what is and is not included in your insurance plan, because often some items such as fur coats, stamp collections, money, gold, jewelry, computer equipment and tools will have set limits placed on how much you can claim for each. So, you really need to make a careful assessment of your current belongings, and carry out an accurate home inventory before finalizing your policy selection.
If you find that you do have ‘valuables’ which exceed the standard amounts allowed on the policy, then you should contact the insurance company about paying an additional premium to cover them.
This is actually far more achievable in Oregon then most other states, because the starting cost for policies is considerably cheaper, and so there is far more leeway in terms of being able to take out additional cover.
Fourth, there is personal liability cover which means that if someone is hurt accidentally in your home and decides to sue you, that you will be able to get legal protection.
Fifth, if someone is hurt, but decides not to sue you, then this portion of the policy will pay out for them to get reasonable medical treatments paid for. In practice this means fixing broken legs, making good on falls down the stairs and the like.
Because Oregon Home Insurance is so much cheaper than other states, there is no excuse for not arranging a good quality policy that protects your investment in your home and its contents.
