The Best Home Insurance in Mississippi for 2024
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The average cost of homeowners insurance in Mississippi is $3,475 per year, or about $290 per month, according to a NerdWallet analysis. For comparison, the national average is $1,915 per year.
NerdWallet analyzed data from numerous insurance companies to help you find the best home insurance in Mississippi in the following categories:
Best for affordability: Travelers.
Best for coverage: Openly.
Best for consumer experience: Nationwide.
The rates in our analysis are estimates based on many factors, so your rate may differ.
Note: Some insurance companies included in this article may have made changes in their underwriting practices and no longer issue new policies in your state.
What’s new in Mississippi?
The state legislature recently passed a law stating that homeowners insurers in Mississippi aren’t allowed to deny or cancel a policy based only on the age of the home’s roof. This law applies to policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2024.
Best affordable homeowners insurance in Mississippi: Travelers
Travelers
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Travelers
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
In Mississippi, the average annual premium for Travelers is $2,240, which is well below the state average of $3,475.
Travelers offers a robust online experience. You can use the website to get a homeowners insurance quote, file and track claims, make payments, and learn about insurance basics.
Its coverage offerings are similarly strong. For example, you may be able to add extra coverage in case the dwelling limit on your home isn’t enough to rebuild your house after a disaster. One unique option is Travelers’ green home coverage, which pays extra if you want to use eco-friendly materials when repairing or rebuilding your home after a covered claim.
Learn more in our Travelers homeowners insurance review.
Best homeowners insurance in Mississippi for coverage: Openly
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Openly
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Openly’s default homeowners policy goes significantly beyond those of many other insurers. Most notably, it offers guaranteed replacement cost coverage for the structure of your home. That means if your house is destroyed by a covered disaster, Openly will pay whatever it takes to rebuild it the way it was before, up to $5 million.
Plus, if your things are stolen or destroyed, Openly will pay enough for you to buy brand-new replacements, rather than paying less for older items that have lost value over time. It also covers your belongings on an “open perils” basis, paying for damage from anything except scenarios your policy excludes. Most home insurance policies cover damage only from causes specifically named in your policy.
Learn more with our Openly home insurance review.
Best homeowners insurance in Mississippi for consumer experience: Nationwide
Nationwide
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Nationwide
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Nationwide's website makes it easy to manage policies, file and track claims, and set up automatic billing. The company also has a highly rated app for Android and iOS that allows customers to file and track claims, review policy documents, and set up autopay.
In addition, Nationwide’s customers have several ways to get assistance, such as reaching out to their agent or calling the company’s customer service hotline. Outside of business hours, they can use the Nationwide website to get proof of insurance, pay bills and schedule callbacks. A chatbot is also available to answer basic questions.
Learn more with our Nationwide homeowners insurance review.
Full list of the best homeowners insurance in Mississippi
NerdWallet analyzed home insurance companies across the state to find the best home insurance in Mississippi. Here are all of the insurers that received a NerdWallet star rating of 4.5 or higher:
Company | NerdWallet star rating | Average annual rate |
---|---|---|
Not available | ||
Not available | ||
$4,475 | ||
Not available | ||
$2,350 | ||
$2,240 | ||
USAA* | $2,375 | |
*USAA homeowners policies are available only to active military, veterans and their families. |
How much does homeowners insurance cost in Mississippi?
The average annual cost of home insurance in Mississippi is $3,475. That’s 81% more than the national average of $1,915.
In most U.S. states, including Mississippi, many insurers use your credit-based insurance score to help set rates. Your insurance score is similar but not identical to your traditional credit score.
In Mississippi, those with poor credit pay an average of $6,775 per year for homeowners insurance, according to NerdWallet’s rate analysis. That’s 95% more than those with good credit.
Average cost of homeowners insurance in Mississippi by city
How much you pay for homeowners insurance in Mississippi depends on where you live. For instance, the average cost of home insurance in Jackson is $3,800 per year, while homeowners in Gulfport pay $5,030 per year, on average.
City | Average annual rate | Average monthly rate |
---|---|---|
Biloxi | $5,365 | $447 |
Brandon | $3,125 | $260 |
Canton | $3,200 | $267 |
Clinton | $3,755 | $313 |
Columbus | $3,000 | $250 |
Greenville | $3,465 | $289 |
Gulfport | $5,030 | $419 |
Hattiesburg | $4,585 | $382 |
Hernando | $2,755 | $230 |
Jackson | $3,800 | $317 |
Laurel | $4,135 | $345 |
Lucedale | $2,905 | $242 |
Madison | $3,200 | $267 |
Meridian | $3,035 | $253 |
Moss Point | $5,250 | $438 |
Natchez | $3,295 | $275 |
Ocean Springs | $5,365 | $447 |
Olive Branch | $2,755 | $230 |
Oxford | $2,755 | $230 |
Pearl | $3,125 | $260 |
Picayune | $2,775 | $231 |
Southaven | $2,755 | $230 |
Starkville | $2,905 | $242 |
Tupelo | $2,760 | $230 |
Vicksburg | $3,100 | $258 |
The cheapest home insurance in Mississippi
Here are the insurers we found with average annual rates below the Mississippi average of $3,475.
Company | NerdWallet star rating | Average annual rate |
---|---|---|
$2,240 | ||
$2,350 | ||
Mississippi Farm Bureau | Not rated | $3,170 |
USAA* | $2,375 | |
*USAA homeowners policies are available only to active military, veterans and their families. |
What to know about Mississippi homeowners insurance
You may face certain risks when living in Mississippi. Here are a few of the most common, along with steps you can take to insure your home properly against them.
Hurricanes
Wind damage is typically covered by a standard homeowners insurance policy. However, residents of coastal areas may have windstorm exclusions or a separate wind deductible. A wind deductible may be a flat rate, such as $1,000, or a percentage of your dwelling coverage. For example, your policy may have a $1,000 deductible for most claims and a 1% deductible for hail or wind claims. So if your house has $250,000 worth of dwelling coverage, you’d have to pay for the first $2,500 of wind damage yourself.
If your policy doesn’t cover wind damage, you may be able to purchase separate wind coverage from the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association.
Flooding
Flood damage is not typically covered by standard homeowners insurance; you’ll need to buy a separate flood insurance policy.
To find out if you’re at risk, check out the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood maps or visit RiskFactor.com, a website from the nonprofit First Street Foundation. Even if your property is deemed low risk, it may be worthwhile to purchase flood insurance for extra peace of mind.
Remember that while you can purchase flood coverage anytime, there’s typically a 30-day waiting period before the insurance takes effect. Here’s more information about flood insurance and waiting periods.
Tornadoes
Standard homeowners insurance will cover tornado damage, but some policies may carry a separate deductible for wind damage, as described in the hurricane section.
Thunderstorms
Hail damage is often covered by standard policies but as with wind damage, you may have a separate deductible for hail claims.
Mississippi insurance department
The Mississippi Insurance Department oversees the state’s insurance industry and provides consumer protection and resources. For example, its website includes guides to shopping for homeowners insurance in Mississippi, a hurricane insurance checklist and other disaster preparedness information.
You can file a complaint against your insurance company with the Mississippi Insurance Department by mail, fax or online form. If you have questions about filing a complaint or need help, you can request assistance by email at [email protected] or toll-free at 800-562-2957.
Amanda Shapland contributed to this story.
NerdWallet calculated median rates for 40-year-old homeowners from various insurance companies in every ZIP code across the state. All rates are rounded to the nearest $5.
Sample homeowners were nonsmokers with good credit living in a single-family, two-story home built in 1984. They had a $1,000 deductible and the following coverage limits:
$300,000 in dwelling coverage.
$30,000 in other structures coverage.
$150,000 in personal property coverage.
$60,000 in loss of use coverage.
$300,000 in liability coverage.
$1,000 in medical payments coverage.
We made minor changes to the sample policy in cases where rates for the above coverage limits or deductibles weren’t available.
We changed the credit tier from “good” to “poor,” as reported to the insurer, to see rates for homeowners with poor credit.
These are sample rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.
Star rating methodology
NerdWallet’s homeowners insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, consumer complaints, coverages, discounts and online experience. These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our full homeowners insurance rating methodology.
Complaint methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2020-2022. To assess how insurers compare with one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
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