Hurricane Insurance: A Complete Guide for Homeowners

“Hurricane insurance” is actually multiple types of coverage that work together to help you repair or rebuild your home if a hurricane damages it. Typically, you’ll need flood insurance, windstorm coverage, and a robust homeowners insurance policy to adequately protect your home from hurricane damage.

Depending on where you live, your policies might have separate deductibles for hurricanes or windstorms. And they’re often higher than other deductibles.

Here’s what you should know about insurance for hurricanes.

What is hurricane insurance?

Hurricane insurance combines flood and windstorm insurance to protect your home from storm damage. If you live in the Atlantic Basin, you may need this coverage to ensure sufficient protection.

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  Flood insurance

  Standard homeowners insurance policies don’t typically cover flood damage, including from a storm surge. Instead, you’ll need to buy a separate flood insurance policy to keep your home and possessions safe if they’re in an area prone to flooding.

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  Windstorm insurance

  Depending on where you live and what your homeowners insurance excludes, you may need windstorm insurance. As its name suggests, this type of coverage protects your home if strong winds damage it. Insurers may sell windstorm insurance as an add-on or a stand-alone policy. If you live in a coastal area where the risk of hurricane damage is high, you’ll probably need to buy a separate windstorm policy.

What does hurricane insurance cover?

The different coverages that make up hurricane insurance each protect you financially from different hurricane-related damages.

Windstorm coverage can pay for damage to your home from hurricane winds, hail, and tornadoes. Flood insurance, which is always a separate policy from homeowners insurance, pays to repair or rebuild your home and replace your belongings if a flood damages them.

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Does home insurance cover hurricane damage?

Standard homeowners policies usually cover some hurricane damage. But the type of damage as it pertains to your policy is important to understand.

For example, if you have excess water damage due to flooding, your home insurance usually won’t cover flood damage. Fortunately, flood insurance is widely available. But it can be pricey if you have a large home and flooding or storm surges are common where you live.

Windstorms can also cause significant damage during a hurricane. Whether your home insurance covers windstorm damage depends on where you live and your insurance company. Some policies may provide this coverage, but they typically exclude it in hurricane- or tropical storm-prone areas.

What are hurricane deductibles?

A deductible is an amount you’re responsible for before your insurance kicks in to pay for covered damages. For most homeowners insurance policies, the deductible is a flat amount, like $1,000 or $1,500.

Depending on where you live, your insurance may also have a hurricane deductible that applies to damage from a hurricane. Sometimes, the hurricane deductible is a flat amount. More often it’s a percentage of your home’s insured value, ranging from 1% to 10%.^[1]

Your policy will state what circumstances trigger your hurricane deductible.^[2] Each insurance company can decide hurricane deductible triggers, but they must follow your state’s insurance laws. Typically, your hurricane deductible kicks in only if the damage comes from a named storm, such as Hurricane Katrina.

Here’s a look at states where you might have to pay a hurricane deductible.

State	Hurricane Deductible	Insurance Rules
Alabama	1%-10% of insured value	Loss must come from a named storm. Deductible may be per event, season, or calendar year.
Connecticut	Up to 2% of insured value	Applies to category 1-5 hurricanes, per National Weather Service/National Hurricane Center (NHC) declaration.
Delaware	Percentage or dollar amount	Insurers must disclose in policy documents the deductible trigger, how it will apply the deductible, and — if a percentage — provide an example of the deductible in action.
Florida	Choice of $500, or 2%, 5%, or 10% of insured value	Insurers must show the actual dollar amount for the selected deductible on the policy.
Georgia	Percentage of insured value	N/A
Hawaii	Percentage of insured value	N/A
Louisiana	Specific dollar amount or percentage of insured value	Applies to storms named by the NHC. Deductible applies on a per-year basis, not by event.
Maine	1%-10% of insured value, or a fixed amount	Applies to National Weather Service (NWS) named storms and may be per event, season, or calendar year.
Maryland	Capped at 5% of insured value (but insurers may request an exception from state regulators)	Applies to NWS-named storms and in any part of the state (not just in areas with a hurricane warning).
Massachusetts	Percentage of insured value (generally 1%-5%), or fixed dollar amount	Generally applies to NWS-named storms but can vary by company. May be per event, season, or calendar year.
Mississippi	Percentage of insured value	Applies to NWS-named storms. Insurers must provide an example of how the deductible works in policy documents.
New Jersey	Up to 5% of insured value if insurer requires the deductible; up to 10% if the deductible is optional	Generally applies to NWS-named storms.
New York	Generally 1%-5%, but may also be a flat fee	Applies to NWS-named storms.
North Carolina	Percentage of insured value	Applies to NWS-named storms and storms named by the National Hurricane Center or World Meteorological Association.
Rhode Island	Capped at 5% of insured value but may also be a flat fee	Applies to NHC-named storms. Insurers must provide policyholders with at least two examples of how the deductible works.
South Carolina	Generally, a percentage of insured value	Varies by company but typically applies to NWS-named storms. Insurers must provide policyholders with an example of how the deductible works.
Texas	Usually 1%-5% of insured value	Generally NWS-named storms but may vary by company.
Virginia	Percentage of insured value, or a flat amount	Generally applies to NWS-named storms.
Washington, D.C.	Percentage of loss based on replacement cost	Generally applies to NWS-named storms but can vary by company.

How flood insurance works for hurricane damage

Hurricanes often bring flooding. But your homeowners insurance policy probably doesn’t cover flood damage — most don’t. You’ll need to buy a separate flood insurance policy to take care of flood damage.

You can buy flood insurance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or from a private insurance company. You’ll need it if you have a federally backed mortgage, like an FHA or VA loan. If you live in an area with a high risk of flooding, a conventional lender will probably also require you to buy flood insurance.

How much you pay for flood insurance will depend on multiple factors, including the size of your home and its location.

FEMA data shows that 40% of NFIP policies cost less than $1,000 per year, 31% cost between $1,000 and $2,000, and 13% cost $2,000-$3,000.^[3] Just 1% of policies cost between $8,000 and $9,000 annually.

How windstorm insurance works for hurricane damage

In most of the U.S., homeowners insurance covers damage from high winds. But in some high-risk areas, like coastal regions, your policy might exclude windstorm coverage, or it might have a separate deductible.

If your homeowners insurance doesn’t offer protection for damage caused by high winds, you’ll want to buy windstorm insurance as a stand-alone policy. You may also be able to get it as a separate add-on if you live in a high-risk area.

You may be able to find coverage through an insurance agent, broker, or state insurance association. You can also visit your state’s department of insurance website.

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How to buy hurricane insurance

Adequately protecting your home from hurricane damage may involve buying multiple policies. Depending on where you live, you may need flood insurance and a separate windstorm policy in addition to your homeowners insurance.

Here are some tips to help you find the most affordable hurricane coverage:

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  Get quotes and compare options

  Instead of getting coverage from the first insurer you find, it can be helpful to compare coverage options from different companies. This will help you find coverage that best meets your needs. Compare homeowners policies and flood policies from the NFIP and private insurers.

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  Understand waiting periods

  Many insurers have waiting periods for hurricane coverage. For instance, if you live in a coastal state and apply for coverage two days before a major hurricane or tropical storm, your new insurer might not cover you. Proactively applying for and purchasing coverage before a major storm will ensure you’re protected.

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  Contact your state if you can’t find coverage

  It may be difficult to find hurricane insurance in certain high-risk areas. If so, contact your state’s insurance commissioner’s office for guidance. It’ll likely be able to direct you to a state-sponsored association that can help you get the protection you need.

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