This guide is general information, not insurance or legal advice. Coverage, prices and rules vary by insurer and by state, so read your policy documents and check with your insurer, a licensed agent or your state’s department of insurance before you decide.
Key facts
- Many coastal policies carry a separate hurricane deductible, usually a percentage of dwelling coverage often between 1 and 5 percent, that applies only to hurricane damage.
- In Florida, the deductible applies from the moment a hurricane warning covers any part of the state until 72 hours after the final watch or warning is lifted, and generally once per year.
- Homeowners policies typically cover wind damage but exclude flood damage and storm surge, which require a separate flood insurance policy.
- A home inventory, stored in a waterproof container with a copy kept elsewhere, helps support a claim after a storm.
- When hurricane repairs cost less than the hurricane deductible, the insurer pays nothing on the claim.
Hurricane preparation is mostly paperwork done early. A homeowners policy that looks adequate in calm weather can behave differently in a named storm, because hurricanes often trigger a separate deductible, a separate flood policy and separate rules about when each applies. Working through the checklist below before the season starts tells you how your own policy would respond, based on your documents rather than assumptions.
Read Your Declarations Page Before the First Storm Watch
The declarations page is the short summary sheet that comes with your policy. It lists your coverage limits, deductibles and insured property on a few pages, and it is the fastest way to see how your policy treats storms. Pull it out together with the full policy, then check each item:
- Your dwelling coverage limit. Often labeled Coverage A, this is the maximum the policy pays to rebuild the structure. Every percentage deductible on the page is calculated from this number.
- Your standard deductible. Policies usually carry one deductible for ordinary claims, sometimes called the all other perils deductible, and it applies to most non-hurricane damage.
- Any storm-specific deductible. Look for a line labeled hurricane, named storm, or wind and hail. If one appears, the next section matters.
- The exclusions section. Skim it now rather than after a storm, so nothing on the list surprises you later.
Check Whether You Have a Separate Hurricane or Wind Deductible
In hurricane-prone states, many policies carry a second deductible that applies only to hurricane damage. It is usually a percentage of your dwelling coverage limit rather than a flat dollar amount, often between 1 and 5 percent. Florida insurers must offer hurricane deductible options of $500, 2 percent, 5 percent or 10 percent of the dwelling limit, and must show the deductible as a dollar amount even when the policy states it as a percentage.
- Confirm you actually have one. Not every policy carries a hurricane deductible, but homeowners in areas that see frequent hurricanes and tropical storms often do.
- Convert the percentage into dollars. A home insured for $410,000 with a 2 percent hurricane deductible carries an $8,200 out-of-pocket cost before the policy pays anything. A $400,000 home with a 5 percent deductible means the first $20,000 of covered hurricane damage comes from you.
- Learn when it applies. In Florida, the clock starts once the National Hurricane Center places any part of the state under a hurricane warning, and it stops 72 hours after the final watch or warning has been lifted. Damage outside that window generally falls under your standard deductible.
- Check how often it applies. In most cases you owe the hurricane deductible only one time in a calendar year, no matter how many storms strike your home during that span.
- Understand the floor. If the cost of repairs does not exceed the deductible, the insurer pays nothing on the claim.
Smart tip
Do the deductible math with a calculator now, not during a storm watch. If the resulting dollar amount would strain your savings, ask your insurer which lower percentage options are available and what each one would mean for your premium.
Confirm You Have Flood Coverage, Not Just Wind Coverage
Wind and flood damage are covered under different policies, and a single hurricane can produce both. Homeowners insurance typically covers wind damage but excludes flood damage, and storm surge from a hurricane is not covered by homeowners insurance either. That gap is the most common surprise in coastal claims.
- Check whether you hold a separate flood policy. Most property insurance for homes, renters and businesses excludes flood damage, so flood coverage exists only if you bought it.
- Look up your property’s flood hazard. FEMA’s Map Service Center hosts Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Insurance Study reports, which show the identified flood hazards for a community and form the basis for flood insurance activities under the National Flood Insurance Program.
- Understand how a combined claim is sorted out. After a storm with both hurricane-force winds over 74 mph and flooding, each insurer assigns its own adjuster, and the two work through a room-by-room estimate to classify which damage belongs under which policy. When the cause is unclear, an expert such as a structural engineer may be called in to help determine it.
- Close the gap if needed. Our guide to flood insurance basics explains why a homeowners policy alone does not respond to rising water.
Review Your Dwelling Limit and Settlement Basis
Two numbers on the declarations page shape the size of any hurricane check, so confirm both before the season begins:
- Compare your dwelling limit with rebuild costs. If the limit has not kept pace with construction prices in your area, a percentage deductible calculated from it may also be out of date.
- Find your settlement basis. Policies pay claims on either a replacement cost or an actual cash value basis, and the choice changes how much you receive on a large claim. Our guide to replacement cost vs. actual cash value explains how each method works.
Photograph Your Belongings and Make a Home Inventory
An inventory written before a storm supports a claim afterwards, because you will not have to reconstruct your possessions from memory while also dealing with damage.
- Walk every room and record what is there. Photograph or video each space, then list valuable items along with any receipts you still have.
- Store it properly. Keep the inventory with your insurance policies in a waterproof, fireproof, portable container, and store a copy in a separate, safe location. Records are difficult to replace after a disaster, and missing documents can delay insurance claims.
- Include the practical details. Alongside the inventory of household goods, keep important telephone numbers and financial records with the same documents.
- Refresh it after major purchases. An inventory that no longer matches your home gives you less to work with when it counts.
Know What Your Policy Does Not Cover
Exclusions vary by policy and by state, so read your own document rather than relying on what a neighbor was told. A few items deserve particular attention:
- Flood and storm surge. As above, these require separate coverage even when a hurricane caused them.
- Water that enters without wind damage. Rain that comes in through a hole the wind tore in the roof or a wall is generally treated differently from water that rises or sweeps in on its own, and a claim can hinge on that distinction.
- Wind coverage that stands alone. In some areas, property owners must buy wind-only coverage as a separate policy, which may cover water entering a building through wind damage to a roof or wall. Check whether your policy is arranged this way.
- Anything listed in the exclusions section. If a term is unclear, ask your agent or your state insurance department to explain it before the season starts.
Save Your Insurer’s Claim Details Where You Can Reach Them
After a storm, phone networks and power can be unreliable, so claim information should live in more than one place.
- Store your policy number and claims phone number. Keep them in your phone and on paper, with your emergency documents.
- Keep records as the season progresses. Hold onto notices of hurricane warnings, along with any damage and repair records, since these support a claim if one becomes necessary.
- Plan for the deductible. An emergency fund sized to cover your hurricane deductible makes the out-of-pocket cost easier to handle if a storm damages your home.
A checklist completed before the season cannot stop a storm, but it removes the guesswork from the morning after. For the steps that follow once damage has occurred, see our guide to how to file a storm damage claim, and for a broader view of what a standard policy includes, read what homeowners insurance covers, and what it doesn’t.
Questions we hear
How is a hurricane deductible different from a standard deductible?
A hurricane deductible is usually a percentage of your dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount, and it applies only to damage from a hurricane. On a $400,000 home with a 5 percent deductible, you would pay the first $20,000 of covered hurricane damage yourself.
Does homeowners insurance cover hurricane flooding?
No. Homeowners policies typically cover wind damage but exclude flood damage, and storm surge from a hurricane is not covered by homeowners insurance either. Flood damage is covered only under a separate flood insurance policy.
What happens if my storm damage costs less than my hurricane deductible?
If the cost of repairs does not exceed the deductible, the insurer pays nothing on the claim. The deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket before coverage begins.
When does a hurricane deductible start and stop applying?
In Florida, it applies from the moment the National Hurricane Center places any part of the state under a hurricane warning and ends 72 hours after the final watch or warning is lifted. Damage outside that window generally falls under the standard deductible.