On the night of May 6, 2026, a line of tornadoes crossed central and southern Mississippi. By the next evening, early assessments counted more than 1,000 homes and buildings damaged across Franklin, Lincoln, Lamar and Lawrence counties, at least 17 people hurt, roughly 20,000 customers without power, and the National Weather Service describing “a very large and dangerous tornado” crossing from eastern Lincoln into Lawrence County.

That outbreak hit a couple of hours south of us. But if you live in Tupelo, Belmont, Iuka, or anywhere in Northeast Mississippi, you know it just as easily could have been here. This is Dixie Alley — Mississippi logged 111 tornadoes in 2025, fourth in the nation.

So instead of writing another “thoughts are with the affected communities” post (they are), here’s something more useful: what the families filing claims right now wish they’d done in April.

Know what you’d actually pay before the storm

The single biggest surprise in storm claims isn’t whether the damage is covered — wind damage generally is. It’s the deductible. Many Mississippi policies carry a separate wind/hail deductible, often a percentage of your dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount. On a $300,000 home, a 2% wind/hail deductible means the first $6,000 is yours.

You don’t want to learn that number from an adjuster standing in your driveway. Pull out your declarations page and look — or send it to us and we’ll walk you through it in plain English.

Document your home while it’s boring

The best claim documentation is made on an ordinary Tuesday, not the morning after. Walk through your house with your phone recording: every room, closets open, the garage, the roof line from the yard, anything expensive. Then store that video somewhere that isn’t your phone — cloud storage, or email it to yourself.

When a storm takes the roof, that ten-minute video becomes the difference between a smooth personal-property claim and months of trying to remember what you owned.

Your storm checklist

  1. Find your wind/hail deductible on your declarations page — know the dollar figure, not just the percentage.
  2. Record a walkthrough video of your home and belongings; store it off-device.
  3. Check your dwelling limit against today’s rebuilding costs — construction prices have moved a lot in a few years.
  4. Confirm how your roof would be settled — replacement cost or actual cash value. It matters enormously after hail.
  5. Save our number — 662-454-7831, call or text — where you can find it without power.

After the storm: watch for the second wave

Every widespread storm in Mississippi brings a second wave: out-of-town roofers and “claim consultants” knocking doors while the tarps are still up. Some are legitimate. Some aren’t. Two rules keep you safe — never pay in full up front, and never sign an assignment-of-benefits agreement that hands your claim to a contractor before you’ve talked to your agent.

What we actually do when it’s your roof

This is the part of independent agency work that doesn’t show up in a quote comparison. When a storm hits our area, we’re on the phone — filing claims the same day, coordinating with adjusters, making sure the wind deductible is applied correctly, and pushing back when a settlement doesn’t match the policy. You get a real person who knows your account, not a claims hotline.

Your homeowners policy is the backbone of storm recovery — here’s how we build one that holds up.

If you’re not sure your current policy is storm-ready, send it to us. We’ll review it at no cost, tell you what we see, and shop it across 20+ carriers if the structure isn’t right. Call or text 662-454-7831 — before the sky turns green, ideally.