Don't Be Blown Away By Your Hurricane Deductible

Hurricane season lasts from June 1st through November 30th. Do you understand how hurricane damage affects your homeowners insurance? Almost five years after Superstorm Sandy, one third of homeowners in several coastal states are still unaware of hurricane deductibles and how they work, according to The Insurance Research Council (IRC).

​Homeowners in New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Texas were asked whether they were familiar with hurricane deductibles, which is a higher deductible found in homeowners insurance policies that applies when a hurricane occurs.

“The findings from this survey suggest that ample room exists for educating homeowners about a key feature of every homeowners insurance policy—deductibles,” said Elizabeth Sprinkel, senior vice president of the IRC. “The need is especially acute as the 2017 hurricane season gets underway, and insurers hope to minimize post-event misunderstandings with their policyholders regarding deductibles.”
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Understanding the details of the hurricane deductible will help avoid financial surprises should your home be damaged by a hurricane.

6 questions to review with your insurance agent to keep better informed:

• Which states have hurricane or windstorm insurance deductibles?
• Why were these deductibles introduced?
• When does the hurricane insurance deductible apply?
• How are hurricane and windstorm deductibles different from regular deductibles?
• When would I pay one of these deductibles?
• How do I calculate my hurricane insurance deductible?

Insurance companies instituted special hurricane and windstorm insurance deductibles after an elevated level of storms coupled with increasing coastal populations resulted in massive numbers of storm-related property insurance claims, and heavy financial losses for insurance companies.

Homeowners in high-risk hurricane areas should review their insurance policies so they know how much they may have to pay toward their hurricane storm insurance deductible in the event of a storm.

Call us at Suburban Brokers and we’ll be more than happy to discuss your policy with you, or quote you a policy if you don’t already have one with us.

Be safe this summer.