Mississippi Property Insurance Claim Resources

To make a property insurance claim in Mississippi, the policyholder must inform their insurance carrier of the loss, and that they are making a claim. This means that the only requirement to initiate the process is that the insurance carrier is told (either directly or through their insurance agent) that there has been a loss, some details about the loss, and that the policyholder wants to make a claim. 

In many cases, Mississippi insurance companies will call this communication a first notice of loss, or a notice of claim. 
Most insurance companies provide multiple ways to contact them after a loss to begin the claims process, these usually include: 
a) Phone call (a number is usually provided on the insurance company’s website);
b) Online portal – many insurance companies have an online form to notify the claims department of a loss, this may even be through a mobile app;a)
c) Your agent – many insurance companies even have a different section of their website or phone number for an agent to inform them of a policy-holder’s loss;
d) Online software as a virtual assistant. 

While it is easy and quick to start a claim, claimants need to continue to follow-up and provide more information. In many cases, the insurer will require more information and supporting documentation, including specific forms, to actually process and adjust the claim.  

Note, check the policy itself for reporting requirements, as Mississippi allows the policy language pretty much full control over the requirements of the policy and policyholder.   

Note, further, for residential property insurance claims in Mississippi, there may be additional or different reporting requirements or options through the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association (MWUA) and/or the Mississippi Residential Property Insurance Underwriting Association (MRPIUA). These are associations created by statute for residential insurance oversight and each has specific reporting portals.

MWUA:
InsuranceNow Website – Agents may use the Agent Portal to submit a Loss Notice.  https://mwua.iscs.com/innovation
Policyholders may report claims via the Service Portal at :https://service-mwua.iscs.com
Phone – New claims may be reported by calling 1-866-634-4465 or 1-800-853-4434. (Call center is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.)
MWUA Claim Reporting Email- Access the claim reporting email.  newclaims@msplans.com 
MWUA Claim document Email-  msclaimsdocs@msplans.com
Fax – New claims may be faxed to 1-877-786-7275

MRPIUA:
InsuranceNow Website – Agents may use the Agent Portal to submit a Loss Notice.  https://mwua.iscs.com/innovation
Policyholders may report claims via the Service Portal at: https://service-mwua.iscs.com
Phone – New claims may be reported by calling 1-866-634-4465. Please report claims promptly, our call center is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
MRPIUA Claim Reporting Email – Access to claim reporting email. newclaims@msplans.com 
MRPIUA Claim document Email-  msclaimsdocs@msplans.com
Fax – New claims may be faxed to 1-877-786-7275

Both MWUA and MRPIUA require the following information in order to initiate a claim:
– Policy Number
– Your return contact information (phone #s, email, fax, etc.)
– Named Insured on the Policy
– Date, Time and Location of the damage or loss
– Description of the damage
– All contact information for the Insured and/or their representative
– If multiple buildings, please specify which buildings are damaged with specific addresses

Some things are pretty much universally the best practice after your property suffers damage. Whenever property damage occurs, and it looks like a claim under the insurance will be necessary, the insured should take steps to help ensure the claim processing will go smoothly. These steps include: 

– Mitigate the damage, as soon as it is reasonable. This means protect the property and secure it against further damage when it is safe and possible to do so. Mitigation should only be just trying to keep the damage from getting worse, it does not mean that it is a good idea to jump directly into substantive repairs. 
– Inform the insurance carrier of the damage.
– Determine if the covered damage exceeds the policy deductible by an amount sufficient to make a claim.
– Cooperate with your insurance company, inspectors/adjusters, and other interested parties and communicate with them (and keep copies of all correspondence).
– Make your property available for inspection as soon as it is safe and possible to do so.
– Prepare supporting documents for your claim including:
a) Inventory list;
b) Description of damages;
c) Photographs and/or videos of the damage;
d) Receipts; etc.

Reporting Deadline: Mississippi insurance law does not have a specific provision setting forth a universal specific deadline for making a property insurance claim. This means that the deadline for informing the insurer of a claim is set forth by the policy itself. It is important to be familiar with the insurance policy so that deadlines are not missed. 

Generally speaking, Mississippi requires a policyholder to provide notice of a claim in a reasonable amount of time. While it is never a good idea to delay in providing the insurance company with information once it has been determined that a claim will be filed, the actual meaning of “reasonable” with respect to making a claim depends on the circumstances – if a home is completely destroyed by a storm and the phones, internet, and power are off, it may take a little longer to make the claim.  

Be sure to check the language of the insurance policy to determine the notification or reporting deadlines. But, in any event, remember that best practice is to provide notice of the loss and claim to the insurer as soon as possible.

Documentation Deadline: Similarly to the reporting deadline, the deadline to provide supporting documents or other documentation or evidence is not set by statute, but instead by the policy itself. Also similarly to the reporting deadline, the general requirement is that a policyholder provide the evidence within a reasonable time period.  

Note, however, that no matter the actual deadline for providing supporting documentation, it is always best practice to provide a proof of loss document and support of the claim as soon as possible (while noting that the document only presents the knowledge at the time and may be amended or updated).

Providing a proof of loss document to the insurance company quickly is a good way to get the claim process moving along, and to get your payment.
It is worth noting that in Mississippi, the insurance company is supposed to provide the policyholder the proper forms “upon which to make the required proof of loss, with full directions as to what proof is required to secure the payment of the policy”. If the insurance company does not do so, the failure of the policyholder to provide a sufficient proof of loss isn’t a defense to any suit under the policy – and the policyholder has a reasonable time to complete the proof of loss after receipt of the forms.   

Mississippi is unique in that there is no specific requirement regarding the time periods by which an insurance company must acknowledge or begin to investigate a property insurance claim after receiving notice. While there are specific deadlines for other types of insurance claims in Mississippi, property insurance claims are not covered by statutory deadlines, and accordingly, are only required to be processed in good faith.  

The insurance company is, however, supposed to provide the required forms for a proof of loss or anything needed to for the policyholder to recover under the policy within a reasonable time. 

Similarly to the acknowledgement and investigation deadlines, Mississippi has no statutory requirements regarding the time periods by which an insurance company must accept/deny a claim, or the time period in which payment must be made after the claim is accepted.

Since there are no real statutory deadlines for payment, it is difficult for an insurance company to pay “late.”
However, if certain strict requirements are met, a policyholder can make a claim against an insurance company for bad faith. If a bad faith claim is successful the insurance company can be liable for a wide variety of damages related to the bad faith, including consequential damages, extracontractual damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, and even punitive damages in some cases. 

Deadlines to File Suit: Generally, the deadline to file suit against a property insurance company in Mississippi is set by the policy itself, and this period is usually no longer than one year from the date the loss was sustained. Note, however, special deadlines may apply in the event of certain disasters.