State Farm to Offer Storm Mitigation Credits in Mississippi

State Farm will offer discounts in Mississippi beginning May 1 for homes and rental property strengthened against wind damage.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney told The Sun Herald that he approved State Farm’s plan to offer the mitigation discounts. They will apply to new construction and retrofits to older homes.

Discounts range from 8 to 30 percent, depending on the location of a home, condominium unit or rental property and construction techniques used.

Chaney said the highest discount is available only to policyholders south of Interstate 10 who meet strict guidelines for new construction, including hurricane mitigation measures, set by the insurance industry’s Institute for Business and Home Safety.

State Farm spokesman David Majors said the company will send more information to policyholders in mid-March about how the program works.

Majors said similar programs are in place in Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina.

State Farm has dropped wind coverage for coast customers who live within 2,500 feet of the Mississippi Sound, or bays that spill into it. But the company still has around 20,000 policies with wind coverage in South Mississippi.

Also, State Farm said its agents are being allowed to write one new policy for each policy they lose.