7 deadliest home insurance disasters
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3. Hailstorms

Affected areas: Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma

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While hailstorms might seem pale in comparison to the rest of these natural threats, they can cause significant damage to property and life. The hailstorms of Central Texas in April 2006 caused more than $160 million in insured losses, and one of State Farm's biggest payouts was made to cover hailstorm damage in 1992.

The United States experiences more than 3,000 hailstorms per year, with most of them occurring in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Hailstorms can cause serious damage to roofs, siding and windows. Homeowners' insurance rates have increased in these areas, but policyholders can best minimize the premium by installing impact-resistant asphalt shingles.

Bruce Barnard, president of Barnard-Donegan Insurance in Seguin, Texas, says that hailstorms represent the biggest natural threat to homeowners in Central Texas.

"(Hail) is a big factor of homeowner's rates in Central Texas. We don't have much of a hurricane threat, but hailstorms do the most damage. Rates can be very high in some areas like Dallas/Fort Worth," says Barnard.

He says that it is common for rates to rise following a year with significant hail damage and that insurers try to project hail forecasts for coming years.

"Some companies might not even write you if you don't have a hail-resistant roof, and you'll be thrown into a higher risk category."

4. Hurricanes

Affected areas: Gulf Coast states and all Eastern coastal states

From the Carolinas to the tip of Florida and to the Texas coast, hurricanes threaten almost all of the Southeastern United States. According to the National Hurricane Center, 273 hurricanes struck the United States between 1851 and 2004. Ninety-two of those were considered major storms of Category 3 (sustained winds of 111 to 130 miles an hour) and above.

After hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast in the summer of 2005, many insurance agencies pulled out of coastal areas with the expectations that storms will become more frequent and intense in the coming years. Katrina caused some $40 billion to $55 billion in insured damages -- more than the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks and the Northridge, Calif., earthquake combined.

Homeowners can protect their homes by boarding their windows or installing storm shutters, elevating their homes if possible and installing "hurricane straps" which secure the roofs to the wall studs.