Owning a home in Savannah comes with a lot to love — live oaks draped in Spanish moss, historic squares, and salt air drifting in from the coast. It also comes with a few risks you can’t ignore. Hurricanes roll up the Georgia coast. Summer storms drop hail and knock down trees. Humidity works on rooflines year-round. Homeowners insurance is how you protect the biggest investment you’ll probably ever make, and getting the right policy here takes a little local know-how.
A standard homeowners insurance policy in Georgia typically protects four things:
If wind tears shingles off your roof or a kitchen fire damages your walls, dwelling coverage pays to repair or rebuild. The key is insuring your home for what it would cost to rebuild today — not what you paid for it. Construction costs in Chatham County have climbed in recent years, and an outdated policy can leave you short when you need it most.
Personal property coverage handles furniture, electronics, clothing, and everything else inside. Picture a burst pipe soaking your living room, or a break-in while you're at work. This is the coverage that replaces what you lost.
If a guest slips on your front steps or your dog bites a neighbor, liability coverage helps pay legal and medical costs. It's the part of the policy most people forget about until they need it.
If a covered loss makes your home unlivable, loss-of-use coverage helps pay for a hotel, meals, and other costs while repairs are underway. After a major storm, that can matter more than you'd think.
Here’s something a lot of new homeowners in the Savannah area learn the hard way: not every policy treats wind and water the same.
Wind and hail deductibles. Along the coast, many policies carry a separate hurricane or wind/hail deductible — often a percentage of your home’s insured value rather than a flat dollar amount. On a $350,000 home, a 2% wind deductible means you’d pay the first $7,000 of storm damage yourself. Knowing that number before hurricane season is a lot better than discovering it after.
Flood insurance is separate. Standard homeowners insurance does not cover flooding. Not storm surge, not rising water from a tropical system stalled over the Lowcountry. If you live near the Savannah River, the marshes around Thunderbolt, or anywhere on Tybee Island, flood insurance isn’t optional — it’s essential. Even inland neighborhoods in Pooler and Garden City have seen streets turn into streams during heavy rain. A separate flood policy through the NFIP or a private carrier fills that gap.
Older homes need special care. Savannah’s historic district is full of homes built long before modern building codes. Rebuilding a 1900s home with period-appropriate materials costs more than standard construction, so features like extended replacement cost or ordinance-and-law coverage can make a real difference.
Rates vary with your home’s age, construction, roof condition, distance from the coast, claims history, and credit. Coastal Georgia premiums generally run higher than the state average because of hurricane exposure, but there are practical ways to bring costs down:
The biggest savings, though, usually come from shopping your policy. Carriers price coastal risk very differently, and the company that’s cheapest for a brick ranch in Rincon may not be competitive for a raised cottage on Tybee. As an independent agency, we compare multiple carriers for you — one conversation, several quotes.
We help homeowners across the greater Savannah area and the Georgia coast, including:
Savannah, Pooler, Garden City, Port Wentworth, Bloomingdale, Thunderbolt, Tybee Island, Vernonburg, Rincon, Springfield, Guyton, Richmond Hill, and Pembroke.
Whether you’re closing on a new build in Pooler, insuring a historic home downtown, or reviewing coverage on a family property in Richmond Hill, we know the neighborhoods, the flood zones, and the carriers that write coastal Georgia well.
Online quote tools are fine for a ballpark number. But coastal insurance has details a form can’t catch — the right wind deductible, whether you’re in a flood zone that just got remapped, how your roof age affects eligibility. A local agent walks through it with you, answers the phone when a storm is on the way, and advocates for you at claim time.
We’re not tied to one insurance company, so our job is simple: find you the best coverage at the best price, and explain it in plain English.
Wind damage, generally yes (subject to your wind deductible). Flooding, no — that requires a separate flood policy.
