Missouri law gives the owner of an owner-occupied one- or two-family home at least 30 days' written notice of a non-renewal, with the insurer's actual reason and a line telling you the Missouri FAIR Plan may be available. Percentage wind and hail deductibles are policy terms, so read the declarations page. Flood is a separate policy. The FAIR Plan is a last resort with a low statutory limit and no liability cover, and I check other markets before it.
What Missouri law requires when the letter arrives
Sections 375.001 to 375.008 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri cover fire and extended coverage policies on owner-occupied homes of not more than two families. Under section 375.004 an insurer that will not renew must mail or deliver notice at least 30 days ahead. The notice has to give the insurer's actual reason, clear and specific enough that a person of average intelligence can identify the basis without asking further; the statute says phrases such as "living conditions" do not suffice. It must also say you may be eligible for the Missouri FAIR Plan. One exception worth knowing: no non-renewal notice is required when the insurer moves your policy to an affiliate in the same holding company and that company tells you before the new term.
Cancelling in the middle of a term is harder. Once a policy has been in force 60 days, section 375.002 allows cancellation only for non-payment, fraud or material misrepresentation or a violation of policy terms, a conviction for a crime that increases the hazard, or physical changes to the property that increase the hazard. Section 375.003 sets 30 days' notice, or ten days for non-payment.
- Claims historyThe Department of Commerce and Insurance's own answer to a homeowner non-renewed after two claims in a year is that the law permits it, on the anniversary date, with 30 days' notice and specific reasons.
- Another insurer's decisionSection 375.007 bars an insurer from refusing to write or renew solely because another insurer cancelled or non-renewed you, and from requiring you to divulge that it happened.
- CreditSection 375.918 bars an adverse action based on a credit score without another, non-credit underwriting factor.
Hail, wind and what the roof is worth on paper
The National Weather Service office that covers Kansas City counts more than 300 tornadoes in its area since 1950. The one every underwriter knows is Ruskin Heights: on May 20, 1957 an F5 tornado ran a 71-mile path from near Williamsburg, Kansas through Martin City and Ruskin Heights, and 44 people died. The claims that drive today's letters are more ordinary. On March 6, 2017 supercells ahead of a squall line dropped baseball-size hail in Clay and Platte counties and in Johnson County, Kansas, with an EF-3 tornado at Oak Grove and an EF-2 near Smithville Lake. On May 28, 2019 a tornado did EF-4 damage near Linwood in southern Leavenworth County before the storm crossed the metro and put down another from Kearney to Excelsior Springs. On July 14, 2023 a squall line with a measured 89 mph gust west of Lenexa dropped trees on houses through the middle of the city and cut power to nearly 200,000 people.
The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance tells homeowners that some insurers sell policies with a percentage deductible for wind and hail and a flat amount for everything else, figured on the home's insured value, not on the size of the claim. A two percent deductible grows every time the dwelling limit is raised. The Department's roof guidance describes three ways a roof claim is paid: replacement cost, actual cash value with depreciation taken off, and functional replacement cost. Which one is on your renewal matters more than the premium. The Department also lists wind- and hail-resistant shingles among the discounts to ask about.
After a storm, section 407.725 is on your side: a roofing contractor may not promise to pay or rebate your deductible, may not negotiate the claim for you, and you may cancel the contract within five business days of the insurer telling you the loss is not covered.
The Missouri FAIR Plan, in plain words
The Missouri Property Insurance Placement Facility has operated since October 1969 for property that cannot be placed in the normal market, and describes itself as a last resort. What it says about its own dwelling policy:
- LimitTwo hundred thousand dollars on building and contents combined, a figure the Plan says is set by Missouri statute. Check it against what your home would cost to rebuild.
- How it paysActual cash value on named perils: fire, lightning, wind, hail, explosion, riot, aircraft, vehicles, smoke, vandalism. No replacement cost.
- Not coveredLiability, earthquake, flood, and backup of sewers or sumps. Limited theft can be added to contents.
- Who gets inOne- to four-family dwellings, owner- or tenant-occupied, through a Missouri-licensed agent. Every new property is inspected and re-inspected every four years. Severe disrepair, unrepaired prior damage, an unsatisfactory loss history, unsafe heating or wiring and fuse boxes can each be grounds to refuse.
The Department names the surplus lines market as the other alternative. That is where I look for a home whose value or liability exposure the FAIR Plan cannot carry.
If the house is on the Kansas side
A home in Overland Park, Leawood, Olathe or Kansas City, Kansas follows Kansas law, and the rules are thinner. K.S.A. 40-2,122 requires any insurer that cancels or refuses to renew to give a written explanation specifically detailing the reasons. The 60-day notice in K.S.A. 40-2,121 applies to business policies, not to a homeowners policy, so the notice period on a Kansas home comes from the policy's own conditions. Under K.S.A. 40-2,112 a declined applicant is entitled to the specific reasons in writing on request.
The Kansas FAIR Plan (the Kansas All-Industry Placement Facility, in Topeka) describes itself as a not-for-profit association formed by Kansas insurers to provide basic coverage for responsible applicants who could not find it in the voluntary market. Under K.S.A. 40-2142 its policies run one year on forms and rates approved by the Commissioner of Insurance.
Creek flooding and water in the basement
Overnight on July 26 and 27, 2017, five to seven inches of rain produced a record flood on Indian Creek; the Weather Service's account centers on 103rd and Wornall, with more along Tomahawk Creek in Leawood. A homeowners policy generally excludes flood. That takes a separate policy, from the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer, and an NFIP policy normally starts 30 days after purchase. Water that backs up through a floor drain or overwhelms a sump is a third thing: the Department describes it as an endorsement you add, and the FAIR Plan does not offer it at all.
What I need to quote
The notice or renewal offer, the current declarations page, the address and which state it is in, year built, the year the roof was last replaced and what it is made of, any claims in the last five years and what was repaired afterward, and the date coverage has to start. If the letter cites the roof or a claim, photos and the roofer's invoice help more than anything else.
Common questions
How much notice does an insurer have to give before non-renewing a homeowners policy in Kansas City, Missouri?
At least 30 days, in writing, under RSMo 375.004, with the actual reason stated clearly and a line saying the Missouri FAIR Plan may be available. The rule covers owner-occupied homes of one or two families.
Can my insurer drop me in Missouri for filing two hail claims?
Yes, at renewal. The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance says state law permits a non-renewal on the anniversary date with 30 days' notice and specific reasons, and each company sets its own claims guidelines.
Who insures a Kansas City home after a non-renewal?
Other standard insurers first, since one company's decision cannot by itself be another's reason to refuse under RSMo 375.007. After that the surplus lines market, and last the Missouri FAIR Plan, which has a low statutory limit and no liability cover.
Why does my Kansas City renewal have a percentage deductible for wind and hail?
Some insurers in Missouri now write wind and hail with a deductible that is a percentage of the home's insured value, alongside a flat deductible for other losses. Missouri's regulator tells homeowners to check the deductible for each kind of loss before renewing.
Does the Missouri FAIR Plan cover liability or sewer backup?
No. By its own description it is an actual cash value, named-peril policy that leaves out liability, earthquake, flood and backup of sewers or sumps.
My house is in Johnson County, Kansas. Do the Missouri rules apply?
No. Kansas law applies, and K.S.A. 40-2,122 requires a written explanation of the specific reasons for a cancellation or non-renewal. The 60-day notice statute in Kansas is written for business policies, so check the conditions in your own policy.
Does homeowners insurance cover flooding from Indian Creek or Brush Creek?
Generally not. Flood needs its own policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood insurer, and NFIP coverage usually takes 30 days to start.
General information about home insurance in the Kansas City metro as of November 2026, not legal advice. Statute summaries are from the Missouri and Kansas Revisors' sites; FAIR Plan terms are from the plans' own sites and can change, as can insurer appetite. Read your own notice and policy, and confirm deadlines with the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance or the Kansas Insurance Department. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.