Homeowners insurance in tornado alley

[onethatcares]

Does anyone know what the average yearly premium is for replacement value of homes in that area? Also, what companies provide the coverage?

[Trailrider1951]

1. Well, I'm in Central Texas, a few miles east of Jarrell

My homeowners insurance is about $750 a year, and covers pretty much everything except flood.
Google "Jarrell tornado".

[onethatcares]

2. my reason for asking this

is that I am in Pinellas County Florida and currently pay $3000.00 per year for Homeowners insurance and for the life of me I can't understand why places that are in even more dangerous areas than the gulf coast have what amounts to reasonable rates for coverage.

BTW, we're talking a frame home, tax value 110,000.00, replacement value 150K, no pool, vicious dogs, or flood area.

[Travis_0004]

3. Because of hurricanes?

Hurricanes are not quite as dangerous as tornados, but they do much more in damage overall.

The tornado in Joplin did about 3 billion in damage. Hurricane Sandy's cost is over 10 times more damage.

I think the odds of getting hit by a tornado in a tornado alley, or hit by a hurricane in Florida are somewhat the same (possibly even more likely in Florida), the damage from a hurricane is much higher.

[Trailrider1951]

5. Wow, what a difference! My late father lived for many years in Clearwater after he retired

I knew that hurricane-prone areas were more expensive, insurance-wise, after living for many years in Houston. I did not know the difference was that great. By the way, when I refinanced my mortgage on this house in 2009, it appraised at $103,000. Tax value is $89,000.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. There are areas in California (Ramona for example)

Where rates are either higher than that, or simply not available.

Last year during the chockey fire five families lost all, four were simply uninsured, period, full stop. Boulevard is also a very poor area in San Diego county

[FarCenter]

4. Tornados usually affect and area a quarter mile wide and several miles long.

So from an insurance loss statistic, they are not such a big risk as a hurricane, which can cause damage miles wide and tens of miles long.

[toddaa]

6. Hail damage is actually the biggwr issue

F5 tornadoes are rare and insurance companies typically carry reinsurance policies to deal with events like yesterday. Hail is what really taxes a P&C company's reserves. Unlike the rest of of the corporate world, P&C actuaries are not climate change denialists and, yes, premiums will be going up, although not as much as you'd expect. They always make up the reserve pool selling in areas outside of tornado alley.

As for your question, replacement cost is a shitload more expensive than actual cash value, which is what most people witth mortgages are required to carry.

[forthemiddle]

7. Statistics

There were statistics shown right after the Moore tornado that houses, in tornado alley, still only have a 1 in 10 million chance of being wiped out by a tornado. To get hit twice by a tornado (like many Moore homes) your chances decrease to 1 in one TRILLION!. So even though tornadoes are more prevalent in tornado alley, the chance of one of them destroying any one individual house are still extremely small.
Moore, and Joplin (entire towns being wiped out with the major infrastructure) is still a relatively small occurrence. Hurricanes are a much more destructive force in totality.

By the way, I live in mid Wisconsin, an area that gets a couple of tornados a year, and we pay about $750.00 a year. All major insurance companies cover this area.