"2011 storms trigger home insurance rate hikes" March 04, 2012|Todd Wallack, Globe Staff
Consumers, already contending with the rising cost of gasoline, food, and other necessities, could now also face sharply higher home insurance premiums.
After several years of modest increases, insurance companies are raising rates to offset a big jump in claims related to damage caused by tornadoes, severe snowstorms, and Tropical Storm Irene last year, according to industry executives. The increases, which must be approved by the state, will likely affect most of the state’s nearly 2 million policy holders, and if approved, homeowners will see their rates go up when they renew or buy new policies this year.
“Homeowners rates are likely to go up a lot this year,’’ said Chris Olie, chairman of Bunker Hill Insurance. in Boston. “It was a wake-up call from Mother Nature.’’
Time to hit the snooze on the Boston Globe.
But insurance companies say they need larger increases now because they were hit so hard by wild weather, including a brutal winter a year ago that caused widespread damage from ice and snow; deadly tornadoes that swept through Western and Central Massachusetts in June; Tropical Storm Irene that caused flooding and wind damage in August; and an early snowstorm that downed trees and power lines across the state in October....
The damage wasn’t confined to Massachusetts. Many states were pounded last year by tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters, driving rates up nationwide....
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