Major home insurance companies pull out of some states due to high risk — is Ohio next?

BEAVERCREEK — Severe weather is inflicting millions of dollars of damages blanketing the country.

As News Center 7′s Mike Campbell uncovered during WHIO-TV at 6 p.m. things may be getting more stressful for homeowners.

Greene County residents know all about severe weather.

A deadly tornado ripped through Xenia 50 years and in more recent history the Memorial Day tornadoes in 2019 hit the Miami Valley.

>> RELATED: Memorial Day Tornadoes: Remembering the destruction, devastation 4 years later

Insurance agents said you need to make sure you are covered for the unexpected.

“Based on historical facts, Ohio is going to get a thunderstorm, a hail storm, and now a tornado or two, and your rates go up,” Leronda Jackson, owner of LFL Insurance Agency said.

She can shop at several companies to find her clients the best coverage.

She said the rules of the insurance game are changing everywhere but right now especially in places like California and Florida.

“People are literally moving out of the state because they can’t get insurance,” Jackson said

Jackson said many insurance companies are refusing to write new policies in high-risk areas because of this.

U.S. Insurance companies have paid out almost $300 billion in claims in the last three years.

It’s an all-time record for a three-year period, making it “buyer beware” as those companies change policies for their pool of claim payment money.

Miami Valley residents shared their reactions to this.

>> House considered total loss following fire in Miami County

“Every year they had to it or take from it, I think the insurance would rather add to it than taken from it every year,” George Jones said.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a good thing for us, obviously, if it happened to me, I wouldn’t be happy about it either,” Sam Stone said.

Insurance sellers think that insurance companies will go to insurance commissioners in high-risk areas looking for relief.

But if they don’t get it, homeowners will feel the pain.

“We need to raise our rates by 50 percent and if the state regulators say no, then they just leave,” Jackson said.

Agents told News Center 7 there are two other things to keep in mind — make sure you have replacement cost insurance, not just current value, and avoid making repeated small claims so that your company isn’t tempted to drop you before you need help with a major claim.

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