Homeowners Insurance (Springfield, Ozark, New Madrid: apartment, renters, house)

[lhermey]

Hello,

I tried to look back on this forum to see if anybody asked about homeowners insurance. If I missed it please let me know what thread I should be looking for. Because MO is located in an area where there is the possibility of tornadoes is homeowners insurance expensive? Also, is earthquake insurance something I should consider?

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by lhermey

Hello,

I tried to look back on this forum to see if anybody asked about homeowners insurance. If I missed it please let me know what thread I should be looking for. Because MO is located in an area where there is the possibility of tornadoes is homeowners insurance expensive? Also, is earthquake insurance something I should consider?

Well, I guess "expensive" depends on where you are moving from but I don't think insurance is expensive here. We moved from CA and part of what keeps me from being able to compare is the different cost of the homes in the two states but for us, it is not expensive at all and tornado insurance is included in most if not all policies.

I'm happy to say that earthquake insurance is not a consideration in Missouri.

I hope I've answered your questions. If you'd like to speak with an insurance office, here's my insurance agent's information. He was very helpful and easy to talk to, which is saying a lot since I tend to go into a stupor and my eyes glaze over whenever the subject of insurance comes up.

Hodges Insurance
Jess Hodges
(417) 634-3985

[Ozarks21]

Originally Posted by mrsgenealogy

I'm happy to say that earthquake insurance is not a consideration in Missouri.

Not so fast. If you live in SE Missouri it should be a consideration.

New Madrid earthquake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[lhermey]

Hello mrsgenealogy,

I heard that there had been small earthquakes in MO in the past. Maybe the information I was given is wrong. Anyway, I hope there ahsn't been nor will there be any inthe future. The tornados will be hard enough for me to deal with, even if it's just a warning. It will really scare me!

Thanks for the information.
LHermey

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by Ozarks21

Not so fast. If you live in SE Missouri it should be a consideration.

New Madrid earthquake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You know, I had completely forgotten that I'd heard about that fluke of an earthquake over there in the southeastern corner of the state. I think I saw a special on either the History or Weather Channel and if that's the one they were talking about, they do consider it a major threat IF it ever "goes" again. I only know that my insurance agent doesn't consider the Springfield area a high earthquake risk area and doesn't recommend it. If that New Madrid quake ever does happen and reaches this far, the insurance companies will be overwhelmed and I doubt they'll be much help.

Thanks for keeping things "real" here. I know people are asking for our opinions and sometimes we give erroneous advice because we aren't experts or don't have the same knowledge that others do. I'm glad we don't have to be experts to respond or most questions would go unanswered. I'd hate to "steer someone in the wrong direction" so I do appreciate the help of others to keep things true.

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by lhermey

Hello mrsgenealogy,

I heard that there had been small earthquakes in MO in the past. Maybe the information I was given is wrong. Anyway, I hope there ahsn't been nor will there be any inthe future. The tornados will be hard enough for me to deal with, even if it's just a warning. It will really scare me!

Thanks for the information.
LHermey

Hello, L!

I hope there won't be any earthquakes here, too. It's funny. You kind of get used to whatever you deal with on a regular basis. When we moved here from CA, we were glad to think that we wouldn't have to deal with earthquakes but if we had a choice, we thought they would be better than a tornado. That probably sounds weird to someone who hasn't been exposed to earthquakes most of their life. In 50+ years, we felt plenty of them but it was usually no big deal. When they were big, which was rare, we focused on the rarity of those big ones.

When our daughter was a teenager, she complained about having never felt one. Often when you felt one, you'd ask others if they felt it, too, and they usually didn't. When the day came that my daughter felt her first earthquake, it was the one experience my very big family ever had where one of us experienced loss. She was at her Grandma's house when the 1987 Whittier earthquake hit. She was standing in front of the sink putting on her makeup when the earthquake started, causing the medicine cabinet to fly open and all the contents to fly out. The damage to the home wouldn't show up very well in pictures from the street but the foundation was moved and there were cracks all over. Inside, everything on the wall and counters, etc., came down...including the TV. Even though pictures of it wouldn't make the evening news, the house was unsafe to live in and they had to move.

As bad as that was, it was the only personal loss our family ever suffered in what was then 30 years of our family living out there so we were more afraid for awhile, I guess, but we still felt the chances were slim for us to get "hit" with one.

As soon as we got to MO last year, Springfield was under threat of a tornado and we've had so many alerts since then. My husband has felt more in danger of these than we ever felt of an earthquake. I guess the TV alerts have played a part in that. There aren't earthquake warnings...just little rumbles...which tell you the good news that movement is happening which we learned meant that there was less chance of a big burst of movement, i.e. a BIG EARTHQUAKE caused from it being "stuck" for awhile.

One thing I notice, though, is that as the warnings have come and gone so much, I think my husband is getting less fearful of it happening to us. At first, I think he felt it was imminent. We are learning where to go if one is imminent and can even take off in our RV if we really feel we want to get out of the area.

I hope this helps alleviate your fears some. Living with it every day helps put it in perspective, I think. Anyway, that's MY personal take on it.

[Ozarks21]

Please don't take off in your RV if there is a tornado warning. You would be safer in your house, even if you don't have a basement.

They over-do it with the warnings around here. The weathermen get a moment of feeling important and really exagerate the threat. The area at risk in a tornado is relatively small compared to the viewing area served by the local news.

[lhermey]

I'm VERY happy to hear this! I will relax and stop stressing over the thoughts of dealing with tornados. Of course, once I get to MO I'll take shelter when necessary. I plan to rent an apartment before buying any property so I hope there will be a safe place for us renters just in case.

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by Ozarks21

Please don't take off in your RV if there is a tornado warning. You would be safer in your house, even if you don't have a basement.

They over-do it with the warnings around here. The weathermen get a moment of feeling important and really exagerate the threat. The area at risk in a tornado is relatively small compared to the viewing area served by the local news.

Thanks, Ozarks21!

You know, I was thinkin' 'bout that after I wrote it. I know that those weather people are just doing what the NOAA says and they're blanketing a whole area in an attempt to cover themselves. I realize that all weather is rather furtive and difficult to determine, especially around here.

I've got to interrupt to share something funny. I looked up the word "furtive" to be certain that I was using the it correctly and here's what it said at Dictionary.com:

furtive \FUR-tiv\, adjective:
1. Done by stealth; surreptitious; secret; as, a furtive look.
2. Expressive of stealth; sly; shifty; sneaky.
3. Stolen; obtained by stealth.
4. Given to stealing; thievish; pilfering.

Now, if that doesn't describe a tornado, I don't know what does! hahaha!

Now, where was I? Oh, yeah! I got to thinking about that RV statement I made and even though we said that a long time ago, now we realize that we usually aren't even in danger and by the time we are, you're right...it will probably be too late to go off in that thing.

By the way, we called our local Fire Department and asked them where we were to go in case of a tornado warning and they told us two places we could go to. (The high school and a church) But don't you worry...if we're in imminent danger, we'll just stay put. Thanks again for the tip!

[sunshine girl]

Homeowner's insurance is wayyyy cheaper here than FL. SWMO $700./yr vs. FL 1500-5000 depending on location for similar sized/aged homes. As anywhere, look at what your policy covers/doesn't cover. You might be surprised. Example being covers water damage from say a leaking pipe, but not water damage from backed up sewer. Acts of war, sinkholes, and other weird and wacky callamities may not be covered.......