Does Kansas Home Insurance Cost More Outside of Town?

Does Kansas Home Insurance Cost More Outside of Town?

Many of us dream of having a place outside the hustle and bustle of the city. Taking advantage of the state’s natural beauty on our own terms. A lot of us live in cities throughout the state both big and small but have the itch to spread out on our own piece of country paradise. Making this dream come true comes with a few things to consider. Longer drive times and some costs you need to consider before making the move.

Your new land will have increased costs such as maintenance, land management and utilities that you may not be used to. One item that catches people by surprise is home insurance. The more land you have and further outside of town you go home insurance costs increase. Once outside limits of the city of Great Bend, Ellinwood, or Hoisington you are getting farther away from services like police and the fire department and insurance changes. In the city the proximity and quality of these services allow your home insurance to be cheaper.

You may be wondering how does the insurance company figure out how to set home insurance rates if you live outside of city limits of Great Bend. There are a several factors that are considered insuring your home. One that stands out in a rural setting is the proximity to water (if there is no hydrant the fire department will have to truck it to your home). Second is the proximity and quality of the fire department i.e. is it volunteer or paid, their equipment, do they have a plan in place to source water close to your location. Why do these things have an effect on home insurance rates?

1. Water Source – If your home catches fire a water source in close proximity will allow the fire department to put the fire out quickly. In the city there are fire hydrants relatively close to every home. Once you are outside of city limits the fire department doesn’t have the ability to hookup to the nearest hydrant. They will have to truck the water out to the location and a plan to keep the water coming. Most local fire departments in this area keep tanker trucks ready to go in an emergency and there is cooperation within Barton county between cities to work together in an emergency.

2. Fire Departments and Policy – Within Barton county there are paid full time fire fighters and volunteer fire fighters. Insurance companies prefer paid full time staff. This is based on the assumption that paid full time staff will be able to respond to an emergency more quickly and will also be better trained than their volunteer counterparts. There is also an assumption that the full time departments are better funded and have better equipment although this is not always the case.

3. Protection Class – When calculating a premium insurance companies use your homes The protection call is numbered 1 through 10 with 1 being the best. In Great Bend homes typically have a 3, Hosington a 5 and Ellinwood is a 5. There are many factors that go into assigning a protection class number. Rating factors include distance to the nearest fire hydrant, full time or volunteer fire department, distance to the fire department, and the local fire departments rating. The further you move out of the city the higher your homes protection number becomes. It is not uncommon for homes in a country setting to have a protection class of 10.

Overall its there is more risk for an insurance company with a home insurance policy on a rural country home. An Independent Insurance Agent like Panzer Insurance can help you find the best protection and best price because we work with many companies that specialize in home owners insurance in remote or rural locations.

If you would like to learn more about your options please schedule a time to talk. We would love to make your dream of a country home come true!