residents experience an average of two declared disasters per year, with severe storms and hurricanes occurring most frequently. Homeowners insurance will cover most types of storm damage, but you will need separate flood insurance to cover the rest.

It is to your benefit to learn about what your home insurance will and won’t cover when it comes to the disasters common to the area. In Mississippi, severe storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, power outages, landslides, and droughts are all possibilities.

Make sure you know whether you need to purchase additional coverage before you are faced with an emergency. Fortunately, insurance expert

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is here to explain what you need to know about natural disasters and home insurance in the Magnolia State.

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What is homeowners insurance—and what does it cover?

Homeowners insurance (or home insurance) is a type of insurance policy that pays to repair or replace your home if it’s damaged by certain events.

Home insurance isn’t required by law, but it is usually required as a condition of your mortgage loan.

Before we dive in, here are some key terms that will help you understand your policy:

Perils: A peril is any event that could cause damage to your home. Some examples of common perils are fire, hurricanes, vandalism, and earthquakes.

Open perils: If you have an open perils policy, it means that your policy covers damage from any event unless excluded in your policy.

Named perils: If you have a named perils policy, you are only covered for damage caused by the specific perils named in your policy.

Actual cash value: An actual cash value (ACV) policy will cover what you paid for the damaged structure minus depreciation. So if you have owned your home for a while, the actual cash value may be lower than the cost of repair or replacement.

Replacement cost: Replacement cost policies pay you at the current market value to repair or replace your home and/or personal property.

Levels of homeowners insurance coverage

There are several basic levels of home insurance, each one offering more extensive coverage than the level below it.

HO-1: the most basic level, an HO-1 policy provides coverage limited to your primary dwelling. They cover only the house itself from a limited number of named perils—leaving other personal property unprotected.

These policies are often ACV policies.

HO-2: HO-2 is also a named perils policy. These policies typically cover more perils and extend beyond the dwelling to your personal property in and outside the house.

HO-3: This is the policy type chosen most often by homeowners. HO-3 policies are more comprehensive and include coverage for the house, additional structures—like fences and sheds—personal property, loss of use, liability, and medical payments.

If you choose an HO-3 policy, your house is covered at replacement cost, but your personal property is covered at actual cash value.

HO-5: An HO-5 policy is an open perils policy for your home and all of your belongings. It also covers loss of use, liability, and medical payments.

Premium coverage will cost you, though, and may only be worth it when you have a custom home or expensive assets that may be hard to replace.

Here’s another breakdown of the policy types:

Policy type	Covered items	Perils
HO-1	House only	Named perils
HO-2	House, personal property, loss of use, liability, medical payments	Named perils
HO-3	House, personal property, loss of use, liability, medical payments	Dwelling—open perils, personal property—named perils
HO-5	Main structure, personal property, loss of use, liability, medical payments	Open perils

MORE:

Home insurance terms you need to know

What perils are covered by homeowners insurance?

16 perils are commonly included in home insurance policies. Some (or all) of the perils listed below are likely to be included in your policy—but don’t take anything for granted. Your named peril policy may vary from the information below, so be sure to read your documents carefully.

Perils generally included in all policy types are:

Fire and lightning

Smoke

Volcanic eruption

Explosion

Riot or civil commotion

Hail and windstorms

Damage caused by vehicles

Damage caused by aircraft

Vandalism

Theft or malicious mischief

Additional named perils in HO-2 and HO-3 policies include:

Falling objects

Weight of snow, ice, or sleet

Water overflow or discharge from plumbing

Water heater cracking

Damage from electrical current

Frozen pipes

Key Takeaway There are four basic types of insurance policies for single-family homes. Most of these policies will have listed perils that will tell you which events are covered.

Does home insurance cover common disasters in Mississippi?

In 2020, Mississippi experienced a whopping seven declared natural disasters. While the state averages two per year, that number seems to have increased in the past few years.

Standard home insurance covers damage caused by many, but not all, natural disasters. Here is a look at the most common events in Mississippi and how to make sure you are covered if they occur near your residence.

Severe storms

Mississippi residents see more than their share of extreme weather. Severe storms are common in the state, often bringing rain, wind, lightning, hail, and snow.

Most of the damage caused by storms is covered by home insurance. Snow, ice, sleet, hail, and windstorms are all commonly named perils.

Extreme heat, drought, wildfires

Heat can damage your home in several ways including causing peeling and cracking, expansion, melting, mold growth, and faded paint.

In most cases, heat damage is not covered by home insurance, as it is considered wear and tear that the homeowner should work to prevent.

Extreme heat and drought leave the environment in Mississippi vulnerable to wildfires. Fortunately, most standard home insurance covers damage caused by fire.

MORE:

Does car insurance cover engine fires?

Hurricanes

About 5% of hurricanes in the United States hit Mississippi, and not all hurricane-related damage will be covered by your policy.

Policies usually cover damage caused by wind, but not flooding caused by hurricanes or storm surges. Additionally, your policy may have a higher deductible for damage caused by hurricanes than for other events.

MORE:

Does car insurance cover hurricane damage?

Floods

As previously mentioned, flood damage is never covered by standard home insurance policies.

Since flooding and hurricanes are both common in Mississippi, it is advisable to purchase separate flood insurance. Many Americans opt to flood insurance through FEMA’s

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Landslides and earthquakes

Landslides, earthquakes, and other earth movement events are not covered in most homeowners insurance.

In Mississippi, there have only been four recorded major earthquakes, but the northwest corner of the state resides in a seismic zone three, which is the highest risk zone for earthquakes. so it may pay to purchase separate earthquake coverage.

MORE:

How to drive safely during an earthquake

Key Takeaway Damage from fire, lightning, hail, and snow is commonly covered in home insurance policies. Damage from flooding and earthquakes is not, so you’ll need separate coverage if your area is at risk.

How to file a home insurance claim

If your home is damaged by a covered peril and you’d like to file an insurance claim, here are the steps you will need to follow:

File a police report. If the damage to your home is a result of theft, vandalism, or other illegal activity, start by filing a police report. Keep a copy of the report to file with your insurance claim.

Notify your insurance company. Contact your agent as soon as possible to start your claim and get advice on how to move forward.

Attend to any emergency repairs. Address any unsafe conditions and secure the area as best you can to prevent more damage. Don’t hesitate to take care of preliminary repairs yourself and keep receipts to show what you have already spent.

Document the claim. Make lists, take photos, provide written descriptions, and include photos of missing or damaged items in their original condition if possible.

MORE:

Worst claim filing mistakes

How to save money on homeowners and car insurance

You can’t control how much your unexpected repair bills cost, but you do have some control over your home insurance prices. Once you know what kind of coverage you need, compare quotes from at least three providers to make sure you aren’t overpaying for your policy.

If you aren’t excited at the prospect of searching for quotes, let the insurance experts behind the

Jerry

app do it for you!

In less than a minute, Jerry will browse dozens of top insurance companies to find you the best quotes for your needs. Once you select a policy you like, Jerry will do all the hard work to get you signed up and can even help cancel your old policy upon request.

“
Jerry
got me insured through Allstate with $100 of savings each month compared to my previous insurance. The customer service was excellent, and they even detected an error my previous insurer didn’t!” —Warren H.