Purpose

Purpose After Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, and caused massive destruction within the State, the Department found that many homeowner insurance policyholders who filed property loss claims were inadequately insured or did not fully understand the insurance they had purchased. The purpose and intent of this Regulation is to address these issues by setting forth procedures and requirements that ensure policyholders understand their rights as policyholders in the State of Mississippi, and by enacting a requirement that property and casualty insurance companies writing homeowners personal lines residential insurance property coverage establish standard checklists of policy contents. To accomplish these goals, this Regulation sets forth the rights Mississippi policyholders have with respect to their insurance policies and insurance companies. This Regulation also requires that property and casualty insurers provide an outline of coverage and a standard checklist of policy contents to policyholders. Policyholders should be aware that Mississippi law provides that insureds have an affirmative duty to read a contract of insurance and are bound by the contents thereof. Any outline of coverage and comprehensive policy checklist is for informational purposes only, and does not change the coverage selected and paid for by the policyholder. This Regulation is being promulgated by the Commissioner of Insurance in order to facilitate the public's understanding of homeowners’ policies.