Finding a good price on homeowners insurance is a priority for many homeowners in Mississippi. A great way to find good coverage at a reasonable price is by comparison shopping. We evaluated large home insurance companies to help you find the best homeowners insurance in Mississippi.
Cheap Home Insurance in Mississippi Cost Comparison
It’s smart to compare home insurance quotes when hunting for cheap homeowners insurance. Our analysis shows that home insurance costs can vary significantly from one insurance company to another. You won’t know how much you can save until you shop around.
| Home insurance company | Average annual home insurance cost in Mississippi |
|---|---|
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$1,079
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Southern Farm Bureau
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$2,002
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$2,640
|
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$3,261
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$3,685
|
|
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$4,729
|
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Mississippi Homeowners Insurance Cost Factors
Finding cheap home insurance in Mississippi will depend on the following factors:
- The year your home was built
- Your personal credit
- Your claims history
- Your property’s claims history
- The materials your home is made of
- The cost to rebuild your home
- The fire rating of your property
- The coverage amount and policy limits
- Your deductible amount
- Your location
What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover in Mississippi?
A standard home insurance policy (called an HO-3) covers a house structure for any problems that aren’t excluded in the policy. Exclusions found in an HO-3 include nuclear hazard, intentional loss, flooding, earthquakes, sinkholes, war, wear and tear, vermin and insect infestations.
Your belongings are covered for certain “perils” which is insurance-speak for “problems.” Volcanoes, smoke damage, explosions, fire and riots are just some of the problems covered by home insurance.
It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with how home insurance works to protect you so you can best determine how much home insurance you need.
The following are the main types of homeowners insurance coverage:
- Dwelling: This covers the costs to rebuild and repair your house and its attached structures, like a garage and balcony.
- Other structures: This portion of a policy covers the costs to replace and rebuild structures that are not attached to a home, like a gazebo, greenhouse or shed.
- Personal property: This covers the costs to replace and/or repair your belongings, such as clothing, furniture, rugs and other of items.
- Liability: This coverage pays the costs of property damage or injuries accidentally caused by you to others. This could include settlements, court judgements and legal defense costs. For example, if your child bats an errant baseball and hits a guest, your liability coverage could pay for their medical expenses and other costs.
- Medical payments to others: This section covers the costs of smaller medical claims (usually up to $1,000) made by non-household members, no matter who is at-fault. For example, if a guest trips on your front porch and gets a minor injury, this coverage could pay out quickly for the urgent care visit.
- Additional living expenses: The additional living expenses portion of a policy can pay for costs like a hotel room, takeout meals and extra, necessary services if you are unable to live in your home because of a problem covered by the policy (like a fire),
What’s Not Covered by Mississippi Homeowners Insurance?
Standard home insurance plans commonly exclude coverage for problems such as earthquakes, floods, intentional loss, sinkholes, war, vermin, power failure and nuclear hazard.
It’s smart to read your homeowners policy closely to understand what is excluded from coverage.
Flood Insurance in Mississippi
Standard homeowners insurance policies do not cover flood damage. With flooding becoming a more frequent occurrence, you may want to get flood insurance, especially if your property is in a high-risk area.
Government assistance after a flood may be minimal. To cover your property and belongings, it’s best to have your own flood insurance to rely on. The majority of people who have a flood insurance policy purchase it through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a federal program. Private flood insurance may also be available.
After a major disaster or emergency, FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP) can provide monetary and direct assistance, but only if you qualify. IHP helps people find housing who experience a disaster not covered by their insurance or other sources.
Earthquake Insurance in Mississippi
While Mississippi has only had four earthquakes with an intensity of V or greater on the Modified Mercalli Scale, the northwest corner of the state is in seismic risk zone 3, which is the highest risk zone.
You’ll find that your standard homeowners plan does not include earthquake coverage. If you want to cover your property and belongings from earthquake damage you’ll need to buy a separate earthquake insurance policy.
Earthquake insurance typically covers:
- Dwelling
- Other structures
- Personal property
- Additional living expenses
An earthquake insurance deductible is generally a separate deductible from your homeowners insurance. It’s usually between 10% to 25% of your dwelling’s policy limits.
Catastrophe Savings Accounts in Mississippi
If you’re worried about how you’d pay your home insurance deductible or repair bills if a hurricane or another storm damages your home, a Catastrophe Savings Account (CSA) might be for you.
Mississippi is one of three states that allow CSAs, which are dedicated savings accounts meant to help pay to repair home damage after a disaster. You can only have one CSA and you must segregate it from other accounts and label it as a “Catastrophe Savings Account.”
Here’s how much you can contribute to a Mississippi Catastrophe Savings Account:
- If your insurance deductible is less than or equal to $1,000, you can contribute up to $2,000.
- If your insurance deductible is more than $1,000, you can contribute up to $15,000 or twice the amount of your deductible, whichever is less.
- If you’re self-insured, you can put in up to $350,000.
You can contribute up to the limit with one lump sum or multiple contributions over years as long as you don’t exceed the limit. If you exceed the limit, you should withdraw the excess amount and include that as Mississippi taxable gross income at tax time.
You can withdraw money from a CSA to:
- Pay an insurance deductible for your legal residence in Mississippi if the policy covers hurricane, flood, windstorm or other catastrophic event damage.
- Pay for catastrophic event damage to your legal residence in the state that’s not covered by an insurance policy after the deductible has been paid.
- Pay for catastrophic event damage if you’re self-insured.
One important caveat is that a catastrophic event isn’t every major storm. Storm damage only becomes eligible for you to tap into your CSA if there’s a presidential declaration of disaster or declaration of disaster by the governor.
Money put into a CSA is excluded from the account holder’s Mississippi taxable gross income. It’s also not subject to attachment, levy, garnishment or legal process in the state as long as the funds aren’t involved in fraud.
You’re not taxed when you withdraw money from a CSA as long as it’s for a qualifying expense. If it’s not a qualifying catastrophe expense, that amount will be taxed as income and is subject to a 2.5% state tax. However, the tax isn’t required if you no longer own a legal residence or if you’re 70 or over.
Find out more about Mississippi’s Catastrophe Savings Accounts.
Tips for Buying Mississippi Homeowners Insurance
Whether you are buying a homeowners insurance policy for the first time or you are simply looking to switch plans, you will want to look for a good price without sacrificing the coverage you need. Here are some tips to help find a good policy:
- Assess your rebuilding costs. Your insurance agent or a trusted contractor will be able to give you an accurate estimate to rebuild your home based on equitable materials and labor costs in your area. Your dwelling coverage amount should be equal to this estimate.
- Evaluate how much liability coverage you need. A good starting place is $300,000. But many homeowners will find that their liability could run much higher. When determining your liability, you should buy enough to cover what you could lose in a lawsuit.
- Consider add-on coverage for your belongings. Certain personal belongings have sub-limits, for example, $1,500 if your jewelry is stolen. If you have high-value items, you may want to schedule personal property to them for their worth.
- Think about the benefits of replacement cost instead of actual cash value. If your items are damaged, replacement cost coverage is the superior option. That’s because it will replace your damaged items with new items. Actual cash value only covers the depreciated value.
- Assess coverage gaps. Most home insurance companies offer add-on benefits. You can add coverage for a backed-up sump-pump or to fix utility lines.
- Ask for discounts. Most insurance companies offer several types of home insurance discounts. For example, you may get a discount for bundling your auto and homeowners insurance, for installing a security system, or for installing smoke detectors.
- Research financial ratings. Some banks may not finance your mortgage if you don’t have an insurer with at least an “A” financial strength rating. You can check your potential insurer’s financial strength rating with companies such as A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s.
- Compare quotes from multiple insurance companies. If you don’t shop around, you won’t know how much you could save. An identical policy can vary greatly in price from one insurer to another.
Find the Best Homeowners Insurance Companies Of 2024
