Wind Damage Mitigation Could Make Insurance More Affordable

A new program will upgrade builiding codes so homes are better able to withstand wind damage, making insurance more affordable.

Hurricane season starts in a month. A new bill might make it easier for Gulf Coast homeowners to afford insurance. MPB’s Cari Gervin reports.

The state insurance department has just launched the Mississippi Hurricane Wind Damage Mitigation Program. The legislature approved it earlier this year.

Eventually the program will provide grants to homeowners so they can retrofit their homes to make them less susceptible to hurricane damage.

Van Zachry is a marketing representative for AmFed Insurance in Jackson. He said the program is a good idea.

“That’s what’s going to make it good for the homeowners down there on the coast, to get it to where they can afford it. They’re paying some very very high premiums right now just to have coverage just for when the next wind blows.”

Mike Chaney is the state Commissioner of Insurance. He just launched an analysis this week that will determine what the standards for future building codes will be.

“I have said many many times that on the Gulf Coast there’s a simple answer. You’ve got build to a very strong, fortified building code standard, you’ve got to build above the flood plain, and you’ve got to have proper land use. It’s very simple. If you’re going to have affordable insurance and be able to withstand a hurricane. you’ve got to build or retrofit homes to a standard that will withstand a Category Three hurricane.”

Chaney says retrofitted homes could get up to a 35 percent discount in insurance. The program will apply to the whole state, including the parts more likely to see wind damage from a tornado than a hurricane.

For MPB News, I’m Cari Gervin.