There’s a particular kind of afternoon in April that every Missourian knows. The morning was fine. You had a list. Maybe you were going to get the south field turned, fix that gate latch, finally clean out the gutters over the garage.

Then, around 2pm, the sky gets that look. You know the one.

Storms don’t announce themselves politely in the Midwest. They don’t wait until you’ve dotted every i and crossed every t. They show up fast and furious, leaving you standing in the yard afterward wondering where that old oak tree went.

Here’s the thing about Missouri: we’re not just occasionally in the path of bad weather. We average around 45 tornadoes a year — putting us firmly in the top ten most tornado-prone states in the country. And nearly half of them touch down right here, in April and May. Not later. Now. On top of that, according to NOAA, Missouri has been hit by over 120 weather disasters causing more than $1 billion in damage each since 1980 — and the pace is accelerating. What used to average fewer than 3 events per year is now averaging more than 8 per year over the last five years.

That’s not meant to scare you. That’s just what it means to live here, and why being ready matters more than most people think.

We’ve been insuring Missouri homes and farms long enough to know that the difference between a storm being a bad day versus a catastrophic one usually comes down to a few small things done before the clouds roll in.

So here’s what we actually tell our neighbors — not the generic checklist you’ve already seen a hundred times from other carriers.

The stuff people forget until they’re standing in the rain wishing they hadn’t

Know what you have before you need to prove it. Walk your property this week — not to check on anything in particular, just to look. Take your phone out and video it. Pan across the barn, the shop, the equipment shed. Open the garage and get the vehicles in frame. It takes ten minutes and it’s worth ten thousand dollars if you ever have to file a claim. Adjusters work faster when you can show them what was there before the storm.

That outbuilding you’ve been meaning to add to your policy? Add it. You know the one. The newer machine shed, the pole barn you put up three years ago, the little workshop by the creek. If you built it or bought it and haven’t told your agent, it may not be covered. This matters more than people realize — an uninsured structure isn’t just a financial gap, it can completely change how a claim plays out. Spring is the best time to have that conversation — before the next storm, not during it.

Check your sump pump like it owes you money. Pour a bucket of water into the pit and make sure it kicks on. This is the least glamorous advice in this entire blog and also possibly the most important one for homeowners. A failed sump pump during a three-inch rain event will ruin your week in a way that is deeply personal and expensive.

Figure out your “first hour” plan. After a bad storm, what do you actually do? Who do you call first? Where are your insurance documents? If a tree comes through your roof tonight, do you know your agent’s number off the top of your head, or are you Googling it in the dark while your kitchen fills with rain? Write it down. Put it somewhere obvious.

A word about living in a small town when things go wrong

One thing we’ve noticed over the years: when a bad storm hits a small Missouri community, people don’t wait for instructions. Neighbors show up with chainsaws. Somebody brings food. The guy down the road with a skid loader appears without being asked.

That’s the thing about rural Missouri that doesn’t show up in any insurance brochure — the community itself is part of the safety net.

Our job is to make sure that when the neighbors go home and the adrenaline wears off and you’re staring at the damage in the cold light of morning, you’re not doing it alone financially either.

That’s what a mutual insurance company is, at its core. We’re not answering to shareholders in another state. We’re your neighbors too. When you file a claim, it matters to us personally — because we live here, same as you.

Spring is beautiful in Missouri. It’s also unpredictable and occasionally violent.

Take ten minutes this week to walk your property, check your coverage, and make sure your family knows the plan. It’s the kind of thing you’ll either do now, or wish you had.

And if you’ve got questions about what’s actually covered — the barn, the rental house, the new equipment, any of it — just call your local CFM Agent. That’s genuinely what they’re there for.

CFM Insurance has been protecting Missouri homes, farms, and families for generations. We’re a mutual company, which means our customers are our owners, and that changes everything about how we do business.