ASK AN EXPERT: Insurance

News 13, the Morning News and scnow.com are committed to helping you make ends meet. Along those lines, we will be bringing you a regular series of online question and answer chats called Ask An Expert.

This week you can ask questions concerning insurance. Hurricane season is a little more than a month away so flood insurance is a big topic right now. Allison Dean Love of the South Carolina Insurance News Service will answer your questions.

(This chat is no longer active, however we will offer another opportunity to have your questions answered soon.)

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9:20 a.m.
Steve in Lamar asks ...
What would be an approximate cost to get flood insurance on my home, I would need 100,000 for content and 250,000 for the house?

The average cost of flood insurance in South Carolina is $550, but the cost depends on where your home is located. It can cost much less if you are in a lower risk zone. You can go to www.floodsmart.gov and enter your address and it will tell you the approximate cost. Call your insurance agent or company and they can give you more specifics.

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10:22 a.m.

Barbara in Myrtle Beach asks ...
I recently got a notice from my homeowners insurance carrier that the windstorm and hail coverage will be excluded when my next policy comes due. They advised that I contact the SC Wind and Hail Underwriting Association or another carrier to get this coverage. How do I go about contacting the Association?

Your insurance company will take care of contacting the SC Wind and Hail Underwriting Association for you, so just talk to your agent and they can handle that for you. You can also shop around to see if there is another insurance company that might be able to cover both your basic homeowners’ insurance coverage and wind together. There have been 13 new insurance companies come into South Carolina in the past two years.

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10:30 a.m.
AC Berry in Little River asks ...
I want to know why do insurance carriers raise premiums every year knowing that some people can't afford it. How can I get my premium lowered?

The South Carolina Insurance News Service has a fact sheet for coastal homeowners on their web site at www.scinsurance.net.
The cost of insurance is affected by many factors, including the risk of a hurricane and the cost of rebuilding, repairing and replacing your home. Your risk is greater closer to the beach, so your insurance company has to bring in enough money to pay for those potential claims.
There are several things you can do to save money on your insurance. In 2007, the SC General Assembly enacted a new law called the Omnibus Coastal Property Insurance Reform Act. It provides homeowners with some great ways to save money:

1. Insurance companies are mandated to give you a premium discount if you make your home more hurricane resistant. Those discounts range from 1% to 20% - depending on what you do to your home. For example, if you put hurricane shutters on your home, a new roof, reinforced garage door, impact resistant windows, etc.
   
2. South Carolina state income tax credits are available for homeowners if you make purchases of items like hurricane shutters. So, save those receipts and put it on your 2009 state income tax return.
   
3. You can also set up a tax-free catastrophe savings account of up to $250,000 at any bank in South Carolina to cover any out-of-pocket deductible or any insured damage you might experience from a storm.