Ohio Not Among Most Risky States To Insure

If you’re afraid of natural disasters, there’s good news: Ohio ranks in the bottom 10 for states at risk for them. The bad news is, if you were planning to retire in Florida, you’d then be headed to the riskiest state of all. In generating its “Hazard Risk Score”, real estate tracker CoreLogic reviewed decades of data tied to nine natural hazards, including floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Florida leads the pack in assessed risk, followed by Rhode Island, Louisiana, and California. Howard Kunst is a Chief Actuary with CoreLogic. He compares some of the top state’s perils with those that ranked low, including Ohio. “Florida has hurricanes, storm surge, sinkhole, tornado, convective storms. California has high and extreme risks to earthquakes, wildfire, flood in some areas…..they have exposure to multiple risks with some very high levels. Comparatively in Ohio, there would be a few homes that might have flood risk, convective storms, which is probably the most frequent of any events that would occur," says Kunst. So that’s all fine and good for those worried about their homes. How’s that alleviate those worried for their pocketbook? “Our premiums are sixth lowest in the country, in terms of homeowners insurance," says Mary Bonelli, Senior Vice President with the Ohio Insurance Institute. She says low risk means low premiums. “HOWEVER…. there’s always a however. Ohioans have seen an uptick in natural disasters. Five of Ohio’s six costliest years for catastrophes have occurred since 2008," says Bonelli. It’s a timeline that includes Hurricane Ike and Superstorm Sandy…as well as several summers of heavy straight winds known as derechoes, and last winter’s infamous polar vortex. Bonelli advises homeowners to shrewdly consider what’s a possible hazard for their home, and revisit their insurance policies if necessary. Oh….and the safest state, according to CoreLogic? Michigan! Who knew?