Alaska Property Insurance

When people unfamiliar with Alaska consider property insurance costs, they typically misconstrue the risks that might drive up the cost of property insurance. For all practical purposes the homeowners insurance market in Alaska is surprisingly average in claims volume even in the high risk portions of the state. This is the most likely reason that Alaska has never formed a FAIR Plan for home insurance.

Certainly there are extreme weather conditions in many parts of Alaska but for the most part, the weather patterns are typical and Alaskans have learned to deal with extremes over the years. Many Alaskan cities actually have tamer weather patterns than areas such as Washington, Massachusetts and New York and much of the southeast United States which has reduced the homeowners claim volume.

Since weather patterns in Alaska are predictable for the most part, homes and buildings are constructed in such a way that claims history in the state is far less than states such as Florida or Texas where large portions of the state have been labeled as high risk due to severe home claims. The average homeowner premium in Alaska for 2015 is $952 which is exactly what the national average is. The state has not found the need to introduce a FAIR Plan since the major insurance companies are controlling their homeowners insurance risks.

Natural disasters affect Alaska just like any other state but since the population is spread out the effect on insurance claims is less than many other states. For example, the 2014 Southeast Alaska earthquake that occurred on July 25th in the northern Southeastern panhandle of the state, the major damages were to the communications systems and not near as much to homes and buildings.

Not to downplay the historical significant events that have taken place in Alaska, because many of them lead to severe injuries and deaths, the property insurance market in the state has remained fairly stable and rates are average compared to the rest of the high risk states as a result. Although weather claims are a large portion of the types of claims filed, Alaskans still have many other types of losses that may occur and due to the lack of an Alaska FAIR Plan, the private market has to meet the needs of homeowners in the state.

As with all FAIR Plans, consumers are urged to try to find coverage in the private market and we can help you find an agent that can help you find alternatives to the FAIR Plan.