Upping home insurance advised with severe storm season, skyrocketed construction costs

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – At the time of year when spring storms can cause damage to homes, there come questions about insurance. At the forefront is whether it’s a good idea to think about upping your home insurance, especially as building costs skyrocket, in some cases quadrupled.

After more than a year of relative calm when it comes to severe weather in Kansas, the past couple of weeks have been active. With the storms the state has already seen in May, it may be a good time to look into upping your insurance, agents say.

“Talk to you insurance agent when it comes time for this stormy weather. Because there’s a couple of things we want to make sure. Number one, your roof. Everybody is going to be concerned either about wind damage and losing shingles, or hail damage, which, this is Kansas, it happens all the time,” State Farm Agent Cindy Waggoner said.

Waggoner said broken windows also could cost you more if you’re caught without the right insurance.

“We’ve seen already, the rise of lumber to rebuild, so we want to make sure that you’ve visited with your agent,” Waggoner said. “Make sure that you’re at 100 percent replacement cost so when the storm is gone, we can replace or rebuild to where you were right before.”

Mill Creek Lumber Market Manager Jay Robinson discussed the high price of lumber and what you should do if a storm damages your home.

“If you’re not updating your policies, it would a great time to update your policy,” Robinson said. “Because you don’t want to get caught right now with a policy that doesn’t cover the cost to repair a roof today. Those prices have quadrupled in a lot of aspects.

Waggoner and Robinson said it’s always a good idea to be prepared, including being covered with replacement costs. Waggoner said it’s crucial to know what your deductible is so that you’re not caught off guard.

“But really, working with your agent is the best advice that I can give before the storm,” she said.

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