Insurance questions? (Gulfport, Vancleave: real estate, house, to live in)

[chaps]

Looking to move to gulfcoast area soon. Have read a lot of threads and understand that the insurance rates are higher obviously the closer to the water. I would like to get a map of the flood zones and rates to help determine where I may move and call home.

With all that happened with Katrina, can anyone recommend an honest reputable company and or agent that I may contact with questions. Also, tell me which companies are the worst and let their clients down.

Thanks for any help.

[bkw]

I'm am getting ready to move down there as well. I have USAA, but they don't provide wind/hail coverage. I have to get that from a local company. From what I have been able to gather, for wind/hail coverage (which is the main coverage for hurricanes not including flooding), the rates are set by the state. The questions that I was asked was if I was north or south of I-10, is the home brick or frame, when was the house built, and what's the value of the home and it's contents. My main info has been from Insurance Barn. 1-866-storm10.

[cncguy2000]

Statefarm and Allstate will not write policies on coast.
I hear that wells fargo is.
a few others as well.
Best people to ask would be real estate agents.
IMHO

[cbass]

I have my insurance through Billy Hewes in Gulfport. I believe that he writes policies for Nationwide, he is also into real estate. I did not have any problems with the policy after the hurricane. I believe that the people having the most problems are those that lived South of the railroad tracks, because they were so close to the beach and the insurance companies are trying to write all damage off as flood damage. Flood insurance is a seperate policy so they are trying to pass the buck and not pay anything. My parents had their roof ripped off and had to gut their house, and start from scratch. My father has Farm Bureau and did not have alot of problems either.

[nospinman]

I have lived near Vancleave, Ms, north of I-10, since the February before Katrina. Although I had minor roof damage during the storm and am a good 15 miles from the beach, no flood damage, my insurance rates for homeowner's including wind/hail have gone up $2000.00/yr. I had Farm Bureau insurance until they decided to drop wind/hail coverage after Katrina, which put me into the state wind pool. Then I decided to change to State Farm two days before they stopped writing coverage here. The insurance costs here are out of sight as well as the cost of most everything else that has gone up since the storm. We will eventually move from this area unless prices moderate.

[ggluvbug]

I have heard great things about Farm Bureau. I know several people who had them with no problem. State Farm was very bad.

[kc10a]

We are also moving to the Gulfcoast and our insurance company is USAA. From what the insurance company said if we stay out of the counties along the beach the insurance is almost half. We checked on a 2000 sq ft house in Harrison county and it was going to be over $7000.00 a year, that includes wind and hail, going into Stone countie was less then half price. If you go onto Google Earth you can look at the elevation of the area you want to live in, the higher elevation the cheaper the insurance.