Your Insurance Costs and Coverage

We are constantly reminded that disasters can strike any community. Tornadoes that have hit Midwestern states in recent years have been some of the most destructive the United States has ever seen. Giant sinkholes and earthquakes are occurring more frequently. Six of the 10 worst years for wildfires have occurred during the past decade.

Insurance companies continue revisiting their business and pricing models, raising premiums, enhancing higher first-loss deductibles and similar loss-mitigation features; and withdrawing altogether from some markets previously considered lower risk and now known to be otherwise.

Unlike a mortgage, which can eventually be paid off, your insurance costs never go away. At a time when government can ill-afford more expenses, billions of tax dollars are spent replacing damaged public infrastructure along with private business and home repair and recovery. In some areas, rising insurance costs are stunting real estate values and contributing to commercial and residential real estate loan defaults and foreclosures.

Now, more than ever, it’s imperative to know what your policy does and does not cover before you need it, and what you can do to keep your own insurance costs from skyrocketing.