If you’re a Mississippi resident looking for insurance, you’re in the right place. We’ve compiled all the info you need to help you find home, auto, life, health or long term care insurance right here on this page.
We recommend you read it over, contact the Mississippi Insurance Department at 601-359-3569 with any questions, and let us help you find the coverage you need today.
Auto Insurance
According to the Mississippi Department of Insurance, auto liability insurance provides the best way to protect yourself financially in case of an accident.
Vehicle insurance, and liability protection in particular, pays for damage you cause other people and their property through your own negligence. It also protects your assets and wages from seizure and litigation when the accident is your fault.
State law mandates that all drivers maintain liability insurance on their vehicles. In addition, you must carry a valid insurance card in your car at all times as proof of this financial commitment. However, in your state, this is the only type of auto insurance you must buy.
As a low-income state, Mississippi has traditionally held the lowest minimum automobile liability limits in the country. However, recent legislation, which took effect in January 2006, upped those limits, placing them more in line with minimum limits in most other states.
This new legislation requires you to carry the following liability minimums:
- $25,000 bodily injury per person
- $50,000 bodily injury per accident
Although these increased limits help protect you against financial responsibility in an accident that’s your fault, keep in mind that they serve only as a guideline—and they pay only for other drivers and their vehicles.
If you want to ensure coverage for yourself, your passengers and your own car, there are several other types of coverage you should consider, including:
- Collision—pays for damage to your car when you’re involved in a collision with another car or object
- Comprehensive—reimburses you if your car is stolen or suffers damage from an “act of God,” such as hail or lightening
- Medical payments—pays your medical expenses when you’re injured in an accident
Health Insurance
This state has taken great provisions to help its residents acquire and preserve health insurance coverage. For example, if you are insured under a group plan, nondiscrimination protects you by prohibiting denied or limited health coverage because of your health status.
If you are an employer seeking health insurance for a small business, the guaranteed issue ensures that you will not be denied coverage because of the age or health status of your group members.
Most health insurance policies in Mississippi are guaranteed renewable. That means your coverage cannot be cancelled if you get sick.
The policy you buy will depend on what kind of insurance policy you purchase. And, according to the Consumer’s Guide for Getting and Keeping Health Insurance in Mississippi, state law does not require insurance companies to sell standardized policies. This means Mississippi they can design different policies tailor-made for you. But you will need to read, compare and choose which policy is right for you.
While your state doesn’t require standardized policies, it does require coverage for certain benefits, such as post-delivery hospital stays and breast reconstruction after a mastectomy.
Home Insurance
Homeowners insurance protects you and your family against loss from fire, theft, accident and other calamities.
Eventually, most everyone will be touched by at least one of these situations in some way. Prepare now with the Mississippi homeowners insurance you need, rather than waiting until disaster strikes.
Home insurance policies contain several different types of coverage all rolled into one plan.
This means you get a more comprehensive policy at a more cost-efficient price—as well as protection against:
- Property damage—including both your home and its contents
- Liability—due to a claim or lawsuit filed against you
- Medical payments—when others are accidentally injured on your property
- Additional living expenses—when you must move out of your home temporarily due to an incident involving damage covered by your policy
- Damage to other structures on your property
Several factors influence how much your premium costs you. These include:
- Age of your home: New homes may qualify for discounts. Some companies are hesitant to insure very old homes.
- Type of construction: Your home’s ability to withstand or minimize loss has an impact on your premium. In addition, frame houses usually cost more to insure than brick houses.
- Location: Urban areas have higher crime rates than rural areas, and rural areas tend to have fewer resources for fire protection. Both of these issues can affect your premium.
- Amount of coverage: The amount of home insurance you purchase helps determine premium rates.
- Additional coverage: Any extra coverage or additional coverage types you add beyond required state minimums raises your premium.
- Deductibles: The higher your deductible (or the amount you pay before the insurance company begins paying), the lower your premium.
With a little extra effort on your part, you can keep home insurance premiums low.
Life Insurance
There are two main forms of life insurance: term life and permanent life.
Term life—provides coverage for a specific amount of time; hence the word “term.” Once your term has expired, you may renew it. However, you may face steeper premiums because you will have gotten older with each renewal.
Because of its expiration, a term life policy is a good idea if you want the money to pay for expenses that will diminish in time, such as a car or school loan.
Permanent life—provides coverage throughout your life. As long as you pay the premiums, a whole life policy will stay with you until you die.
Unlike term life policies, most permanent life policies earn cash value. You may borrow from your permanent life policy, but if the money has not been paid back by the time of your death, your beneficiaries may have to liquidate their assets to compensate for the loan.
The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) recommends reviewing your life insurance coverage after the following life changes:
- Marriage or divorce
- Birth or adoption of a child or grandchild
- Significant health changes in your spouse or partner
- Taking on the financial responsibility of an ill or aging loved one
- Purchasing a home or refinancing
- Coming into an inheritance
Taking a second look after these life events will help you to make adjustments to your policy as needed.