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Many Americans live in coastal areas that endure multiple hurricanes a year. That doesn’t mean that you have to pay a high, special hurricane deductible if your house gets hit by more than one hurricane in a year. In Florida, for example, a home insurance company must offer hurricane deductible choices of $500, 2%, 5% or 10%. The $500 choice doesn’t have to be offered if the house is insured for more than $100,000. In some states you could have a much higher hurricane deductible—say, 10% of your dwelling coverage, which would be $30,000 on a house that’s insured for $300,000.
Homeowners in high-risk hurricane areas should review their insurance policies so they know how much they may have to pay if a hurricane hits. For example, a standard homeowners policy with a $500 deductible requires the homeowner to pay the first $500 of insured damage on a claim, regardless of the home’s insured value. However, a hurricane insurance deductible of 5% of a home's worth at a value of $300,000 requires the homeowner to pay the first $15,000 of insured damages. You can buy hurricane insurance at any time of year unless there’s a storm barreling down in your area. Flood insurance policies don’t take effect immediately—typically 30 days after you buy the policy. Remember too that once the federal government issues a tropical storm or hurricane watch, your insurance company will no longer offer additional insurance coverage.
Which states have hurricane deductibles in 2022?
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All of our content is written and reviewed by industry professionals and insurance experts. We maintain strict editorial independence from insurance companies to maintain our editorial integrity, so our recommendations are unbiased and are based on a comprehensive list of criteria. Each state has its own rules and regulations regarding what kind of percentage deductibles insurers can charge as well as when they’re allowed to charge them. Asking your insurer about recent home improvements and maintaining an inventory of your home’s contents to make sure your coverage is sufficient.
What is Hurricane Deductible?
While some insurers let you choose a hurricane deductible that’s a flat-dollar amount, that’s not the norm. If you live in a hurricane-prone coastal community in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, or another high-risk coastal state, it’s possible that your insurer will exclude wind damage from your policy. If that’s the case, you’ll need separate windstorm insurance to cover property damage from hurricane winds. Windstorm insurance can be purchased from private companies or through state-run insurance pools, also known as Beach and Windstorm Plans.
If you can’t agree, you can take action by consulting an attorney or hiring a licensed public adjuster to act on your behalf. You can also contact your state’s insurance regulator to check your consumer rights and make a complaint if necessary. For example, if a window is broken, seal it to prevent more water from coming in. Additional living expenses you might incur – such as hotel and food expenses – aren’t covered by the NFI flood policy. At Insure.com, we are committed to providing honest and reliable information so that you can make the best financial decisions for you and your family.
Hurricane deductibles
For example, if rain comes in through a hole in the roof caused by a hurricane, the roof and water damage could be subject to a hurricane deductible. However, some states like Alabama and Georgia leave it entirely up to the individual insurance company to determine the rules for when a hurricane deductible is triggered. Jennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor and home insurance expert at Policygenius, where she oversees our homeowners insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.
Many comprehensive homeowners policies now have a hurricane deducible built into the contract, some as high as 5% of the value of the insured home. Not even the best home insurance policy will cover every kind of hurricane damage. Instead, if you live in a hurricane-prone area, you may need a mix of policies – home, wind, and flood, which serves as your hurricane insurance. You’ll want to be sure you are also covered for flooding from a hurricane. Depending on the coverages you buy, hurricane insurance can cover your home for damages from heavy rains, wind, flooding, storm surges, tornados, and possibly even other weather-related perils. Check your home insurance policy’s declarations page to see your deductibles, including any hurricane deductibles.
That makes right now the best time to make sure you’re covered if a storm heads your way. Because once the federal government issues a tropical storm or hurricane watch, your insurance company will no longer offer additional insurance coverage. In addition to hurricane deductibles, you might find that your home insurance company has a windstorm or wind/hail deductible. These apply to wind and/or hail damage not caused by “named storms” like hurricanes.
Most homeowners insurance policies cover wind damage and wind-driven rain during a hurricane. In some areas where there is a higher risk of windstorm, 5% of the value may be applied. Additionally, there are also states and insurance companies where homeowners can choose the percentage of deductible in exchange for a lower premium. When choosing your hurricane deductible, keep in mind that the higher the deductible you choose, the lower your premium may be.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to limit hurricane damage to your home if you’re underinsured or don’t have a policy at all. If not, most large insurance companies offer flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program — a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If applicants qualify, they may receive up to a $2,500 limit per household for automotive or $5,000 limit for home insurance deductible.
These percentages are filed with the New York State Department of Financial Services and are approved when insurance companies file their rates with the state. This is important because deductible options between different carriers can range significantly. If your home is located in an area that has high chances of being affected by a hurricane, chances are your homeowners insurance policy will include hurricane deductible. As a result of increased popularity and development along the east coast, as well as, areas facing the Gulf of Mexico, this deductible has been added to at least 19 states including Washington, DC.
And guess what, the insurance commissions and advertising fees are already baked into the price of an insurance policy, so you’re not paying anything extra for using our site to get coverage. Now that you know how the deductibles work for a homeowners insurance plan, you should be better equipped to purchase the best policy for you and your family. A deductible based on dollar amount is going to have a set amount that you must pay out of pocket when you file a claim for a covered loss. There are two types of home insurance deductibles, they are percentage deductibles and dollar amount deductibles. Figuring out how your homeowners insurance deductible works isn’t complicated and it almost works like any other deductible.
This increased the amount the homeowner must pay and decreased the insurer and reinsurer's financial responsibility. Some homeowners will need to purchase a rider or separate insurance to cover losses due to hurricanes. If you live in an area with a high risk of hurricane-related damage, you must be sure your homeowner's insurance covers such hazards.
Additional hurricane insurance considerations
Storm 3 happens on October 20th, and you have expenses to repair a damaged soffit. A separate deductible that applies specifically to damage caused by hurricanes. Hurricane deductibles are often a based on a percentage of your home’s value. FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Florida Housing Finance Corporation is awarding $5 million to local housing partners in the six counties hit hardest by Hurricane Ian. The money can be used to help Floridians pay their home insurance deductibles, which is generally a lot higher than insurance deductibles for non-hurricane events. You will find that most homeowners insurance companies wait for an official ruling from the National Weather Service and if they name the storm or declare a hurricane watch.
A water exclusion clause in a homeowner's or renter's insurance policy denies coverage for certain water-related claims. Homeowners insurance technically covers damage from tropical hurricane winds and rain. However, depending on where you live a special hurricane or wind deductible may apply. Storm 2 happens on October 7th, and you have expenses for water extraction due to a broken window, replacement of wood floors in two rooms, and damaged contents. You’re responsible for the remaining $1,300 due on the Calendar Year Hurricane Deductible , and the remainder of the second claim is covered according to the policy terms and conditions. Whenever you file a homeowners insurance claim, you will be responsible for the deductible related to the claim.
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