Minnesota Tornado Insurance
A comprehensive portion of your auto insurance should take care of any damage from a tornado. But a comprehensive insurance is not required under the Minnesota state minimum insurance regulations, so it is important to know that you would need it to have tornado insurance coverage for your auto.
Tornadoes can happen anywhere in the country, and they are among the most expensive natural disasters in the U.S. Minnesota lies along the north edge of the region of maximum tornado occurrence. In Minnesota, Tornadoes have occurred every month from March through November. The two tornadoes that touched down on March 6, 2017, were the earliest reported tornado in Minnesota. Previously, the earliest verified tornado occurred on March 18, 1968, north of Truman in Martin County. The latest it has occurred in any year occurred on November 16, 1931, east of Maple Plain. In Southern Minnesota, the I-90 Corridor is considered the state’s tornado alley with a higher percentage of these damaging windstorms than anywhere else in the state. No matter where you make your home, it can never be stressed enough to get a Minnesota Tornado Insurance for your home and car.
What is Tornado Insurance?
Tornado insurance does not require a special type of insurance, unlike flood or earthquake. It is generally covered under the homeowner’s insurance policies but however, homeowners are strongly advised to review their policies to make sure that when a tornado occurs, their coverage is sufficient.
For example, a policy with a higher deductible will likely translate to a lower premium but you would end up paying more out of your pocket when a tornado occurs, says Hackett.
It is important for people who live in a rented apartment or condominiums to get a separate policy for their personal belongings because they would not be covered under the policy of their renters/landlords when the tornado occurs.
Furthermore, simply obtaining liability insurance may not provide you with full extensive repairs for your truck when the tornado occurs. You may also need to get a car or truck insurance policy in place.
It is also important to know that you can either have a replacement policy (replaces damages with material of similar quality or kind) or the cash-value policy (replaces damages with cash equivalent)
Does Tornado Insurance Cover Your Car?
Your home insurance would only cover your personal belongings to a limit. A comprehensive portion of your Minnesota car insurance policy should take care of any damage from a tornado. It would also cover your vehicle against flooding, vandalism, and theft during or after a storm.
Cautionary Note: A comprehensive insurance is not required under the Minnesota state minimum insurance regulations, so it is important to know you that you would need it to have storm coverage for your vehicle.
How Much Coverage is Enough?
Most homeowner’s policies limit certain categories of items based on the total coverage amount of the policy. Most insurance professionals recommend making a list showing an inventory of all your personal belongings. The list can be updated annually. If you own valuable items such as art, expensive photography equipment, collectibles etc, you may need an additional endorsement to cover them.
It is more advisable to pay a little extra to get the replacement value insurance coverage, rather than the cash-value insurance coverage because the replacement value policy replaces the damages caused by the tornado with the material the same quality and value while the cash-value policy replaces the damages by giving compensation for the items at their depreciated value.
