Mississippi Hurricane Insurance
Find the right hurricane insurance policy for you.
Written by
Ann Herro has been writing about insurance and employee benefits for over 15 years. She has covered topics as easy as insuring a car, and as difficult as transparency in healthcare costs.
Mississippi’s Gulf shore is vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical storms. These storms form over the Atlantic Ocean and sometimes work their way into the Gulf of Mexico. From there they can make landfall along the Mississippi coast, where they do the most damage, before moving further inland as they become tropical storms before eventually dying out. These storms frequently cause a great deal of expensive damage. Fortunately, residents can protect their finances by purchasing Mississippi hurricane insurance.
An independent insurance agent in our network can assist you with finding the hurricane coverage you need at a rate you can afford. These local and independent insurance professionals can help you determine how much coverage you currently have and, if necessary, can suggest cost-effective ways to increase your coverage. Contact a member agent near you for more information and you can start comparing Mississippi hurricane insurance quotes today.
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Hurricanes Lead to Expensive Damages in Mississippi
- In previous years, MS residents filed 486,913 insurance claims due to hurricane damage
- The claims include both hurricane and resulting flood claims
- The total amount paid out on these claims was $11,947,234,377
- That comes to an average of $24,537 per claim
- The hardest-hit counties were Hancock, Harrison and Jackson Counties with 235,849 claims
- The average claim payout in these coastal counties was $35,454
Hurricanes that make landfall on or near the Mississippi coast cause a great deal of damage. Not only do the high winds damage property, these hurricanes and tropical storms also tend to spawn tornadoes and floods. It is therefore important that Mississippi’s residents are covered by suitable insurance policies.
What Is Mississippi Hurricane Insurance?
A major hurricane can produce wind speeds of more than 250 miles per hour. This is enough to blow roofs off of buildings, flatten some structures and send damaging debris flying. Hurricane insurance provides compensation for loss or damage to buildings and their contents that are caused by these heavy winds. Hurricane coverage may already be included with the insurance policies that you currently have. Homeowners, business, vehicle, and boat insurance policies may all provide the necessary coverage to shield you from the financial losses their heavy winds can bring.
However, in many homeowners insurance policies, particularly when the homes are located in states where hurricanes pose a reasonable threat, hurricane coverage must be purchased with a special endorsement or rider. If you have comprehensive coverage for your car, truck, boat or ATV, it will be covered against hurricane damages. You will need to check your homeowners, condo, renters or business insurance policies to see if this coverage is included. If your policy has no provision for providing hurricane coverage, an agent in our network can help you find a policy that does.
Save on Hurricane Insurance
Our independent agents shop around to find you the best coverage.
Mississippi Hurricane Facts
- On average, 6 hurricanes form over the Atlantic Ocean each year
- Hurricane season is from June 1 to October 30, and peaks on September 10
- A total of 16 hurricanes have made landfall along the Mississippi coast
- Of these, 8 were category-3 storms while 1, Hurricane Camille in 1969, was a category-5
- In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, MS Residents filed 427,973 hurricane insurance claims
- After Hurricane Rita, residents in this state filed 5,318 hurricane insurance claims
- These claims, which exclude flood insurance claims, averaged nearly $16,000 each
How Much Does Mississippi Hurricane Insurance Cost?
As with any type of insurance policy, the cost of your premiums will depend largely on how much coverage you are purchasing. Residents in the state of Mississippi, particularly those along the Gulf coast who are most vulnerable to severe damage, may find hurricane insurance costs to be rather expensive. However, these costs pale in comparison to the cost of rebuilding and starting over if a hurricane causes you to lose everything.
After Hurricane Katrina, the price of hurricane insurance policies in the state began to spike, and for many these costs were overwhelming. As a result, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill that requires insurance companies to offer discounts on hurricane insurance in five of the state’s counties. These discounts would go to owners of single-family homes, including some manufactured homes, if they met the strong-house standards as defined by the Institute for Business and Home Safety. By adding reinforcements to their homes, homeowners can both protect their property and lower their insurance rates.
Mississippi Hurricane Insurance Does Not Cover Flood Damage
Hurricanes and tropical storms drop a lot of precipitation over an extended period of time, and this often leads to widespread flooding. Even those who live further inland, outside of designated flood zones, may experience flood damage as the ground becomes saturated and sewer systems are overwhelmed. Homeowners insurance policies, even if they include hurricane coverage, rarely include coverage for flood damage. For most, this coverage can only be achieved through a separate flood insurance policy.
Flood insurance is federally-backed by the National Flood Insurance Program. The NFIP provides coverage plans for both individuals and business owners. If you live in a designated flood zone and have a mortgage on your home, you may already have this coverage, as required by your lender. For those outside the zone, flood insurance is optional. All of Mississippi is susceptible to flood damage when hurricanes and tropical storms blow through, so all residents of this state are strongly advised to consider this coverage. An agent in our network can give you more information about flood insurance and can help you secure this vital supplement to hurricane insurance.
Learn More about Mississippi Hurricane Insurance
You may already have enough coverage against hurricane damage. If not, as a resident of Mississippi, you may want to strongly consider buying supplemental endorsements or riders to increase your coverage. An independent agent in our network can review your current policies to help you determine whether additional coverage is necessary. These agents may even be able to find you policies that provide more coverage at a lower rate. You can trust your local member agent to give you professional advice, personalized service, and several rate quotes from a variety of top-rated companies.
Contact an agent near you to start reviewing Mississippi hurricane insurance quotes today.