If you live in the Hawkeye State, then you know Iowa is famous for its farmlands. But, whether you live on a farm or in the bustling city of Des Moines, one thing unites us all—we all need home insurance. It helps protect us from paying out of pocket for covered damages or “known perils”, like fire and smoke damage.
We know that looking into your home insurance options isn’t high on most people’s to-do lists; there’s a ton of complicated industry jargon and it can be hard to wrap your brain around which home insurance policy best meets your needs.
Fortunately, we’re here to help Iowa residents understand their home insurance options so that they can spend less time thinking about home insurance and more time actually enjoying the home they live in.
Let’s get into it.
Free Home Insurance Comparison - Save up to 30%
No junk mail. No spam calls. Free quotes.
No Signup required
Every state has different insurance laws; an interesting fact about Iowa is it’s not mandatory to have home insurance—it’s actually optional. However, if you’re buying a house, you may need to acquire home insurance to satisfy insurer requirements as part of your lending agreement.
Iowa may have the most fertile soil in the US of A, but fertile flat lands and the geographical location of the state make it vulnerable to severe weather events.
These are some of the severe weather perils that Iowa is susceptible to:
So even though home insurance isn’t legally required, every resident should take out a home insurance policy on their home given the severe weather risks in the state.
With the exception of HO1 home insurance plans, all policies cover these 16 named perils (also known as hazards). If any of these hazards occur, you can claim it through your homeowners’ insurance.
If a peril isn’t on this list, chances are your home insurance policy doesn’t cover it. You can either take out a rider for that peril, like flooding insurance, or upgrade your policy to “open perils”; this would mean any peril that isn’t specifically excluded in your policy is automatically covered.
Free Home Insurance Comparison - Save up to 30%
No junk mail. No spam calls. Free quotes.
No Signup required
For Iowans looking into their home insurance options, it’s important to understand what home insurance policies typically cover. Traditional homeowners insurance in Iowa covers the following:
There are also some additional coverage options that Iowa residents should consider. First, if you live in a flood zone, you should take out separate flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
The other coverage is water damage coverage which protects homeowners with an HO3 policy (water damage isn’t a named peril for this policy) from paying out of pocket for frozen, clogged, or faulty sump pumps, pipes, or facets.
Great coverage is all well and good, but we know it comes down to cost most of the time. So here are some numbers to help guide you in your home insurance search: the average home insurance cost in Iowa for $250,000 of dwelling coverage is $1,318 a year, whereas the national annual average is 8% higher at $1,428.
Good news for Iowans: by living in the Hawkeye State, you’re automatically saving on home insurance. But the gravy train doesn’t stop there, so keep reading for more ways to save on home insurance.
If you’re looking to save money on premiums, Iowa residents can capitalize on plenty of home insurance discounts, including:
Remember that when you’re getting home insurance quotes in Iowa, ask about available discounts; never assume that these discounts will automatically be applied to your policy! Ask upfront which discounts you’re eligible for so you can get a true sense of how much your premiums will be.
Free Home Insurance Comparison - Save up to 30%
No junk mail. No spam calls. Free quotes.
No Signup required
If you live in Sioux City or Des Moines and call a condo home, you may want to consider condo insurance to help protect your investment. Legally you’re not required to take out condo insurance, also known as HO6 insurance, but it’s a good idea for the savvy condo-owner.
The average cost of condo insurance in Iowa depends on the city and your personal profile, but it is around $600 a year. Condo insurance covers loss of use, personal property, and personal liability.
Even if you rent, getting renters insurance is wise as it offers personal property and liability protection. You might not own your home, but you do own your belongings and they deserve protection too.
The average annual cost of renters insurance for Iowans is $103, with a policy limit of $20,000 for your belongings and $100,000 in liability.
Whether you call the lush farmland of Plymouth or the busy city of Des Moines home, we all need home insurance to protect our biggest investment. Home insurance is your best defense against paying out of pocket for Iowa’s known perils, like tornadoes, flooding, and severe storms. So, even though home insurance isn’t legally required, every Iowan should consider it.
Start by getting access to free quotes here and be sure to apply some of the abovementioned cost-saving strategies, like raising your deductible or installing security features, as they can shrink your premiums even further.
Happy home insurance shopping!
Free Home Insurance Comparison - Save up to 30%
No junk mail. No spam calls. Free quotes.
No Signup required
Claire Smith Claire is a creative entrepreneur with a variety of marketing and content creation skills, including blog and web copy writing, research, and strategy. She has a Masters in Cultural Studies from Queen's University and is known for thinking laterally about marketing, based on her deep knowledge of people and behavior.
