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Testimonial
Working with Davis & Massey Insurance was such a wonderful experience. I'm saving hundreds a year!
- Chris, Carolina Forest
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 02, 2011
Almost every day someone asks us why the home insurance premiums in the Myrtle Beach area are more than other areas. We are actively writing insurance for all of South Carolina, so we see rates for many cities and towns in our state. It is true that home insurance is typically more in Myrtle Beach and really in all of the coastal areas of South Carolina.
The obvious reason is the proximity to the ocean and the probability of hurricane or wind damage. There simply is more of a likelihood that homes in the coastal areas will suffer from wind damage as compared to other ares of the state and that if there is damage it would be more severe. It may not happen this year or for several years (if we are lucky), but statistics show it will happen. So insurance carriers have to collect more premium because one day they will be paying it back out in the form of claims.
Another factor, that is out of the carriers' control, is the cost of reinsurance. This factor affects property insurance carriers not only in coastal areas, but even all across the country. Insurance carriers purchase insurance themselves, called reinsurance, to protect them in case of a very large catastrophe or several catastrophes happening close together. Reinsurance is vital to a carrier's financial strength and the rates are often globally impacted. So insurance carriers must adjust their premiums to reflect the cost to purchase reinsurance.
Also, many believe that the lack of competition leads to higher premium. Many insurance carriers have decided to stop writing new business or even non-renew home policies near the coast. Of the remaining companies, several will exclude wind and hail damage from their policy - basically forcing their customers to purchase wind and hail coverage through SCWHUA (SC Wind Pool). There are only a handful left that will write the traditional Homeowner or Dwelling type policy that includes wind and hail. Now, this can be debated to wether or not this causes higher premiums. Some will say it definitely does, while other say that the market should not set the premiums but the statistics or cost of insurance should.
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