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Hurricane season takes place June 1 – November 30 every year. Don’t wait until after you have a loss to check your insurance—review your homeowners or renters policies to make you have the right coverage in the event you're hit with a destructive storm.
Standard homeowners insurance covers the structure of your house for disasters such as hurricanes and windstorms, along with a host of other disasters. It's important to understand the elements that might affect your insurance payout after a hurricane, and adjust your policies accordingly.
A hurricane deductible is applied only to hurricanes, whereas a windstorm deductible applies to any type of wind. If your policy has a hurricane deductible, it will clearly state the specific “trigger” that would cause the deductible to go into effect.
Unlike the standard “dollar deductible” on a homeowners policy, a hurricane or windstorm deductible is usually expressed as a percentage, generally from 1 to 5 percent of the insured value of the structure of your home.
If you live in an area at high risk for hurricanes, your hurricane deductible may be a higher percentage. Depending on your insurer and the state where you live, you may have the option of paying more money in premiums in exchange for a lower deductible.
Like any deductible, a hurricane or windstorm deductible will affect the bottom line of your insurance payout. If you have a high hurricane or windstorm deductible consider putting aside the additional money you may need to rebuild your home.
One common exclusion is flooding. People tend to underestimate this risk, but 90 percent of all natural disasters—especially hurricanes—include some form of flooding. If you live in a flood zone or a hurricane-prone area, a separate flood insurance policy is a must.
Another common exclusion is sewer backups (which is also not covered by flood insurance) Sewer backup insurance is also good to have in hurricane-prone areas.
Get to know all of the exclusions in your policy and either talk to your insurance professional about purchasing separate coverage, or be prepared to pay out of pocket for the damages that are excluded in your policy.
Imagine the cost of repurchasing all of your furniture, clothing and other personal possessions. Whether you have homeowners insurance or renters insurance, your policy provides protection against loss or damage due to a hurricane.
Additional living expenses (ALE) covers the extra costs incurred if you need to live elsewhere because your home is rendered uninhabitable as the result of a hurricane (or any other insured disaster). While your home or apartment is being repaired or rebuilt, ALE covers hotel bills, restaurant meals, etc.—expenses over and above what your customary living expenses would be at home. Generally, the ALE policy limit is 20 percent of the amount of insurance coverage on the structure of your home. Standard renters policies also provide for ALE.
Written by Insurance Information Institute
2021-06-30 14:45:03