If you’re moving to Arkansas or already have a home here, you already know this state is the jewel of the South. Rich in both history and natural beauty, all four seasons are vividly experienced here. The Natural State gets 40 to 60” of rain, with the southeast portion and the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains wetter than the rest. You’ll see more rainfall in the north during the springtime. Of course, you’ll witness leaves change and the beautiful fall colors.
The Natural State has a surprisingly affordable real estate market. With the median home value of $130,907 and median price of home sales at $156, 800 in 2020. Also, considering the Cost of Living Index reported that Arkansas’ cost of living is approximately 14% lower than the rest of the nation, if you haven’t considered moving to Arkansas, now might be the time!
There is one catch with the affordability of Arkansas and that’s the state’s vulnerability to windstorms, floods, and tornadoes. Home insurance in Arkansas costs around $1,543 a year, which is $343 more than the national average. And that’s why Hippo is so excited to bring our modern homeowners insurance policies to Arkansans. Hippo, on average, saves our customers up to 25%. And getting a Hippo policy only takes 5 minutes, online or via phone with one of our licenced agents.
As with all homeowners insurance policies, you must consider the various factors that insurance companies will take into account when drawing up your policy: age of your home, cost of reconstruction, proximity to a firehouse, crime rates in your neighborhood, and the potential or likelihood of natural disasters common to your state or region, just to name a few.
How often do natural disasters occur in Arkansas? Let’s look at a snapshot:
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Tornadoes – Arkansas ranked as one of the top three states for tornado frequency in three separate years between 1995 and 2005, also record breaking single day totals of 30 tornadoes on January 21st, 1999, and 24 twisters on November 27th, 2005.
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Flooding -- Ranked 4th in the nation when it comes to flood risk according to Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA).
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Earthquakes -- Arkansas sits on the southern end of one of the biggest seismic faults in the United States, the New Madrid seismic zone. According to the Insurance Information Institute, there’s a 40 to 63 percent chance the New Madrid Fault region will suffer an earthquake with a 6.0 magnitude in the next 15 years while smaller quakes happen more frequently.
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Hurricanes – Arkansas does receive hurricanes from the Gulf Coast. Both Katrina and Rita, in most recent memory, hit the state.
Taking this into consideration it more clearly defines why the state carries some of the highest premiums in the nation.
Finding the right homeowners insurance to fit your needs will require a little research. As you can imagine, the biggest homeowner claims are due to tornadoes, hail, and flooding. Research what part of the state you intend to move and see what weather events are most common to that area. You always want to make sure you have adequate insurance, for example, the total loss of your home due to tornado damage would be devastating but hopefully not to your bank account as well. Make sure your policy includes dwelling coverage which would likely help rebuild or repair your home in the event of tornado damage. If your policy excludes damages caused by wind, you should consider adding it.
Hippo believes that our customers deserve better: Better policies, streamlined coverage so you’re not paying for what you don’t need, and superior customer service and support. We tailor a homeowner policy to your needs, your lifestyle, and what’s most important to you. Hippo uses real-time data to keep customers’ policies up-to-date and ensure our customers are always fully insured. Getting a quote is easy and can be done in just 60 seconds and if you see what you like, Hippo can have you covered in less than 4 minutes.
We’re very serious about the care we provide our customers. We have attentive agents available 24/7 to answer any of your questions. Access our Customer Portal day or night to review your homeowner documentation, and all your current policy information. In the unfortunate event that you do need to file a claim, our dedicated Hippo Concierge works with you right from the start, guiding every step of the way to help you get things back to normal as quickly as possible. Also, if we learn about any potential threats in your area, such as major storms, we’ll contact you to give you time to prepare.
Hippo is proud to offer our services to The Natural State. If you’re ready for a new kind of home insurance, get a quick quote now or give us a call at (877) 838-8866—our agents here to help you discover what Hippo can do for you.
