7 deadliest home insurance disasters
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Burghardt has 20,000 clients and says that his homeowners have seen premiums rise an average of 20 percent after Hurricane Katrina.

"At this point, the hurricanes are having a dangerous impact on rates. Your premiums (along the Gulf Coast) are directly related to hurricanes. No hurricanes, lower rates. Wind and hurricane coverage is actually excluded in most policies in Florida, and I think that's where we're headed," says Burghardt.

5. Tornadoes

Affected areas: Regions: Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that, on average, the United States experiences about 1,000 tornadoes that result in 80 deaths and billions of dollars in damages every year. Although the destruction is not as widespread as hurricanes, they happen more frequently and can cause tremendous damage.

There has been a significant increase in tornado activity in the Midwest in 2006 resulting in 17 tornadoes and 52 deaths. Tornado season generally runs from March to May. The twisters are usually covered by homeowner's wind storm insurance but, as with hurricanes, rates are rising in tornado-prone areas.

Dan Ramsey, president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma, says the market was shaky after an F5 tornado -- the strongest rating on the Fujita-Peason tornado intensity scale through suburban Oklahoma City May 3, 1999.

"Oklahoma is really affected because we have a small population base so there is very little ability for insurance companies to get their money back when a tornado or hailstorm comes trough," says Ramsey.

He says that in contrast to other areas that experience natural threats, the insurance market in Oklahoma is relatively healthy despite the risk of tornadoes.

"(The tornadoes) have moved a little further east. It's been an unusual season. There are very competitive rates right now. I think it has to do with our insurance climate and rate structure. Fortunately, we haven't really had any big ones lately but I can't say what it's going to be like when tornadoes hit."

6. Volcanoes

Affected areas: Hawaii, Washington, Alaska, California and Oregon

While volcanoes geographically represent one of the least threatening disasters in the United States, eruptions are a possibility in the Far West. According to the USGS, more than 50 volcanoes have erupted in the past few hundred years in Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and California. They estimate that the most likely places to be affected by similar events in the future include Long Valley Caldera, Calif.; the Cascade Range volcanoes in Washington, Oregon and California; the volcanoes in Alaska and lava-flow hazards on Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii.

While most policies provide coverage from a volcanic eruption when the damage to the home is the result of airborne shockwaves, volcanic blasts or lava flow, they do not provide coverage from earthquakes, land tremors, mudflows or landslides often associated with volcanic eruptions. The cost to remove ash from property is usually not covered unless it first causes direct physical loss to personal property.

Ironically, while some parts of Hawaii are occasionally threatened by volcanoes, the state was ranked by Forbes.com as one of the safest places to live because it is not prone to tornadoes, hurricanes and hailstorms.

7. Wildfires

Affected areas: California, Arizona, Oregon, Florida, Montana, Washington, New Mexico, Colorado

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there is an average of 103,000 wildfires in the United States every year. In 2002 alone, wildfires burned almost 7 million acres. The Oakland Hills fire in 1991 caused $1.7 billion in insured losses, and the 2003 fires in San Diego and San Bernardino counties caused more than $2 billion in insured damages.

Fires are almost always covered under homeowners insurance policies, but more and more insurers are shying away from homeowners in wildfire-prone areas. Wildfire insurance costs depend on a number of factors including the number of homes in the area, estimated value and amount of coverage. Homeowners can help protect against wildfires by clearing shrubbery and establishing a 30-foot defensible space around the home and by replacing flammable vegetation with fire resistant plants.

"The location of where the house is really comes into play. If it's backing up to where a lot of the natural forest is, they have to have clearances and nonflammable roof," says Kathy Long, a personal insurance adviser with Rogers, Fitzwalter and Powell in Portland, Ore.

Long says that in general, homeowners insurance rates remain stable, even after busy wildfire seasons.

"Actually, our rates will skyrocket more because of hurricanes (along the Gulf Coast), not really because of wildfires," she says.