Getting Familiar with Kansas Insurance Rates

If you're like many people, when you think of the state of Kansas, it evokes images of tornados, yellow brick roads, and the Land of Oz. But you may not have known that Kansas residents have the fortune of paying significantly less on their insurance rates than the rest of the country. Despite its location in tornado alley, Kansas residents enjoy a low cost of living, lower populations, and relatively low rate of crime and natural disasters.

When shopping around for Kansas insurance, there are many things unique to the state you should keep in mind to make sure you have the best coverage possible in the event you need to file a claim for your home or car.

Kansas Insurance for Autos
Kansas is a no-fault state, meaning that fault is not assigned after an accident and each person's insurance pays their medical and repair costs. State minimums for auto insurance include:

• Bodily Injury: $25,000 per person/50,000 maximum per accident
• Property Damage: $50,000
• Personal Injury Protection: $4,500 in medical expenses, $900/month loss of income, $25/day in-home services, $2,000 funeral, $4,500 rehabilitation
• Underinsured/Uninsured: $25,000 per person/50,000 maximum per accident

These are just the minimums, and the most common plans include liability coverage of $100,000/300,000 bodily injury and $50,000 property damage. Most residents will also include coverage for their own vehicles in the form of collision and comprehensive insurance when determining their Kansas insurance rates, as liability only covers the other drivers' vehicles.

Kansas Insurance for Homes
Kansas is unique with regards to determining homeowner insurance, so a few things to keep in mind when shopping include:

• Look out for exclusions. As mentioned previously, even though Kansas residents pay lower than average for their homeowner insurance, the big threat to look out for is tornado damage. When shopping for homeowner insurance, make sure your plan does not exclude damage from tornados.
• Fire protection class. The proximity to a fire station and your city or town's abilities when it comes to firefighting will also determine Kansas insurance rates. Fire protection classes range from a 1 (most protection available) to a 10 (least protection, typically in rural areas).
• Other structures. Drive through Kansas and you'll notice lots of farms; which means lots of tractors and farming equipment you will need to store. Make sure you protect these investments by getting additional coverage for your outlying structures and their contents as well. Since a tractor or combine costs more than a typical car, your coverage will need to be higher here.

Saving on Kansas Insurance Rates
Perhaps the single best way to make sure you are getting the best rates for your insurance, be it home or auto, is by shopping around and comparing rates. Localinsurance.com is an excellent resource for this and takes the hard part out of shopping around. You can research all types of insurance, then get multiple quotes on Kansas insurance rates in your area.