Missouri Home Insurance Rates Rise

Missouri insurance regulators report that homeowners premiums increased 5 percent between July 2011 and March 2012. The figure is based on an analysis of rates charged by insurers covering 80 percent of homes. Disaster losses seem to be at least partly to blame. The Post-Dispatch reported that the hike this year is actually lower than in previous years. The insurance department said “base rates,” or rates before discounts, rose 14 percent in 2009 and 9 percent in 2010 due in part to poor returns on investments.