ST PAUL, Minn. — Severe weather season is just around the corner.
Chances are a few communities in our area will see some hail damage this summer.
Insurance agents say Minnesota has seen a significant increase in hail storms in recent years, and it's leading to higher insurance costs for homeowners.
“We are definitely seeing a significant increase,” said Aaron Cocking with the Insurance Federation of Minnesota.
“Wind and hail is causing a lot of challenges for insurance companies right now.”
Cocking says it makes sense that wind and hail events are having such a huge impact on insurance companies.
He says to think about it this way, if your home is broken into, or there’s a fire, chances are your home is the only property that is affected.
Hailstorms, however, can affect an entire neighborhood or city, and since these severe weather events are happening more often in Minnesota, insurance companies are making adjustments.
"We've seen premiums increase anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars,” said Roberta Gibbons, who is an insurance agent with Dyste Williams Agency.
She says a lot of her clients are not only seeing higher premiums, but also higher deductibles, specifically for wind and hail damage.
She says many companies have enacted mandatory minimum deductibles and some companies have also changed the fine print in their policies.
"For example, for older roofs like 15 or 20 years, they are actually going to depreciated or actual cash value.”
Which means the money you get back from the insurance company may not cover the full cost of a new roof.
Cocking says companies are trying to find the right balance.
"What can we do to provide a product to them that gives them coverage that covers most of what it is they're looking for, at a price that works for them," Cocking said.
Heading into storm season Cocking says now is a great time to read through your policy to see how you're covered.
And if you just renewed your policy check and see if there are any changes... because you may not have as much coverage as you think.
"Shop around. In a competitive insurance market different companies are going to come at different risks in different ways and find something that works for you.”
According to Bankrate, the average homeowner’s insurance policy for a home valued at $300,000 is now at $2,527 a year in Minnesota.
That’s 18th higher than the national average of $2,151.
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