Kare11
Hail storms in Minnesota lead to huge insurance price increases
Insurance companies say they have been losing money in Minnesota the last few years because of an increase in hail storms. So they have hiked prices.
MINNEAPOLIS — Joan Hasper and Floyd Grabiel have each lived at the Windwood Condominium for a number of years. But this last year, their monthly home owner’s association fees shot up.
“The last year has been hell, to be honest with you,” Hasper said. “Mine, when I moved in, was about $500-$600 a month. Now they’re over $1100.”
“My assessment went up about 35%,” Grabiel said. “Fortunately I’m able to pay it. Some of our longer-term residents might not be able to pay as easily as I have been.”
It’s happening to people all over Minnesota. And the reason, quite simply, is hail.
Kate Grutzmacher, President of Cities Management, says the cost of master insurance policies, which cover the roofs and exteriors of homes within HOAs, have increased exponentially.
“I mean, in some cases we’re seeing 300, 400, 500% increases, which is just amazing,” she said.
The impact those folks feel full-force is now starting to reach owners of single family homes as well.
“The the day of having the insurance company come out and you know, pay for your entire roof and maybe only have $1,000 deductible, I think those days have come and gone,” said Eric Skarnes, president of Insurance Warehouse.
Skarnes is considered by many in the industry to be one of foremost insurance experts in the state. He says that until 2008, Minnesota was one of the most profitable states in the country for insurance companies. But the rising number of yearly hail storms since than has now made Minnesota one of the five least profitable states.
According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, Minnesota had an average of 237 hail reports each year from 2000 to 2003. But from 2020 to 2023, there were an average of 363 hail reports each year.
“Insurance companies are losing money,” Skarnes said. “We’ve seen carriers in Minnesota, for every dollar they collect in insurance premiums on the space, they’ve paid out roughly a $1.40 in claims.”
The insurance companies, Skarnes said, are now closing that gap by raising premiums, raising deductibles, and adding exclusions that make the homeowner pay a larger portion of a roof replacement after a future damaging storm.
“A lot of them have gotten clever with their language and their deductible structure so that. Either the deductible is large enough or there’s exclusions in the policy that would eliminate a large portion of the roof coverage,” Skarnes said.
Those who haven’t experienced changes yet likely will when their policy renews, Skarnes said.
And the situation with condos and townhomes is more complicated and even worse.
Homeowners pay for those “master policies” covering the roofs and siding through their HOA dues. But nearly all the major companies offering master policies have pulled out of Minnesota.
That forces HOA’s like the one Joan and Floyd are a part of to take whatever policy they can get — at up to 400% of the cost.
The HOA board received just one company willing to cover them.
“We were stuck,” Grabiel said.
Skarnes recommends everyone asks their insurance agent to explain what their new private policy covers before the next hail storm comes. And despite all this gloom, Skarnes is actually optimistic that stability is in the horizon.
“My hope is that we’ve kind of hit this plateau of how awful it can get. I think rates have gotten high enough. I think carriers have reduced their exposure enough with the wind, hail, deductibles and some of the exclusions that they’ve put into policies. And so I do think that carriers will start to be profitable again in Minnesota,” Skarnes said.
MINNEAPOLIS — How much do you know about your grandma’s upbringing?
“The Stories From My Grandmother’s Hands” is a book that aims to show young Black children how their grandmas lived through beautiful illustrations and descriptions.
KARE 11 News at Noon shared more on Thursday about the impact that this book will have.
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
