Insurance companies returning to the SC coast

By: Michelle Carolla | SCNow
Published: June 16, 2009

For the past several years finding homeowners insurance in the coastal areas was a real challenge.

The concentration of homes along the coast grew nearly 60 percent between 1990 and 2005. That, combined with the increase with escalated home values, and insurance companies felt South Carolina was just too risky.

Now, though, more companies are moving back in the state.

“They feel a lot more confident insuring sc now that the building codes have been upgraded and they feel like the homes have better protection against catastrophes," Kimberly Gore, Independent Agents/Brokers of Horry County, said.

More companies mean more competition and more incentives for homeowners to end up with more money in their pocket.

Preparing your home for hurricanes and upgrading older homes can translate to insurance savings.

“Premiums may not always be what the insured expects or what they're used to somewhere else, but there's not a problem now obtaining insurance,” Gore said.

South Carolina insures right at $200 billion in coastal property -- the 8th largest such figure in the nation.