What You Need for the Right Hurricane Coverage

Hurricanes have the potential to drive tremendous winds and dump heavy rains on unfortunate homeowners every year. For many, dealing with possible hurricanes is a byproduct of living in a place with year-round dreamy weather and relaxing, inviting beaches.

Given the destruction hurricanes can cause, getting your hurricane insurance coverage for your home and property right is important. Some of the most critical aspects of storm coverage may extend beyond homeowners insurance.

When discussing insurance coverage for hurricanes, it's important to note that there's technically no such thing as 'hurricane insurance.' Instead, the best way to help protect your home financially is to purchase homeowners insurance and flood insurance.

Homeowners insurance normally protects against property damage from hurricanes in a few ways. It covers damage to the interior and exterior of your house from the storm's high winds and debris.

Your policy is divided into different sections based on relevant coverages. Almost every section relates to hurricane protection in some way.

Dwelling coverage: This is dedicated to your home's physical structure and its attached features. Your roof, walls, patio, HVAC components, home wiring, and more fall under dwelling coverage. Your policy should protect these parts of your house from hurricane damage up to your dwelling coverage limit.

Other structures coverage: This protects the features on your property not attached to your house, such as fences, sheds, pools, gazebos, and more. Your homeowners insurance should protect these fixtures from hurricane damage, too, up to your other structures coverage limit, which is usually up to 10% of dwelling coverage limits.

Personal property coverage: This financially protects your belongings in and around your property, such as your furniture, clothes, electronics, tools, and more. Some especially high-value items, like art and jewelry, are protected up to specific sub-limits and may need special endorsements to protect their full values.

Loss of use coverage: This comes into play when you're forced to move out of your house after damage from a covered loss. If a hurricane renders your house uninhabitable, your insurer can cover expenses to stay while you're displaced during repairs or a rebuild. Hotel stays, gas, food, and more fall under loss of use coverage.

Other Coverages

Homeowners insurance can also cover water damage caused by hurricanes in certain instances. For example, if a hurricane tears your roof off and rain piles into your home, your home insurance can cover the resulting water damage. You may also need to add a water backup endorsement to ensure you're covered from overflowing sewers due to storm surge.

In several states prone to hurricanes, including Florida, your policy has a separate deductible for hurricane damage. Your hurricane deductible is an amount you must pay before your insurance company begins to cover the damage.

Unlike the standard deductible in your plan, which may be a fixed dollar amount such as $500 or $1,000, a hurricane deductible is usually between 2% and 10% of your dwelling coverage. So, for instance, if you had dwelling coverage of $300,000 with a 5% hurricane deductible, your out-of-pocket costs toward a claim would be $15,000.

Your hurricane deductible is typically higher than your standard or all other perils (AOP) deductible.

For insurance purposes, a hurricane is a storm named by the National Hurricane Center that reaches one-minute-average maximum sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour.

A significant component of hurricane damage is flooding caused by heavy rains or storm surges. Home insurance will not cover damage from floods, which is why flood insurance is an essential aspect of having complete hurricane coverage.

Floods are very common and extremely costly. Home insurers aren't able to factor flood damage into their policies. That's one of the reasons you need a separate flood insurance policy to sufficiently cover your property from damage from rushing waters caused by hurricanes.

According to the National Hurricane Center, a storm surge is an abnormal rise of water generated by a storm over and above the predicted astronomical tides. Storm surges are perhaps the most damaging parts of a hurricane in coastal areas.

Flood insurance will financially protect you from damage from storm surges and heavy rains brought by hurricanes. Flood insurance covers your home's structure and your belongings inside. If your property were to flood, as many do during hurricanes, you'd turn to flood insurance for coverage.

The largest flood insurer in the United States by far is the National Flood Insurance Program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Mortgage lenders require homeowners insurance for all property owners who borrow from them. But, lenders typically only require flood insurance for property owners who live in high-risk flood zones.

Dwelling coverage: Dwelling coverage in NFIP flood insurance policies covers the structure of your home and its foundation, systems (such as air conditioning units, water heaters, and furnaces), carpeting, and major appliances. Your policy may reimburse you for these up to $250,000 if inundated by flood waters from a hurricane.

Personal property coverage: Personal property protection in NFIP policies includes things like furniture, electronics, rugs, portable appliances, and more. If your home is flooded and these items are damaged, the NFIP will reimburse you up to $100,000.

Other Coverages

Flood coverage for detached buildings typically requires a separate additional policy. You may also find private flood insurers that cover more than the NFIP.

A flood can happen anywhere, especially after a hurricane. Even though you may not be required to get it, you should look into flood insurance if you want full property protection from a hurricane.

Because no singular policy protects against hurricanes, the cost of hurricane insurance coverage will vary greatly by location, coverage, property characteristics, and more. You'll have to combine the cost of two policies to determine the cost of protection.

Homeowners insurance premiums vary across the nation. Florida, for instance, has some of the highest rates in the nation due to its susceptibility to hurricanes. Within the state, coastal cities tend to have higher premiums than central places largely shielded from hurricane damage. Your home's age, size, and materials will also influence premiums.

Many Americans, regardless of location, get flood insurance from the NFIP. The standard NFIP policy costs under $1,000 a year. But, flood insurance costs also vary depending on your location, coverage limits, and home elevation.

You may also look for coverage from private flood insurers. Flood insurance from private companies is becoming more popular, and they may be able to offer higher coverage limits at rates competitive with the NFIP.

If you live in a state like Florida, where residents spend every storm season watching the radar, you may spend thousands of dollars every year protecting your home against the possibility of a hurricane.

In addition to preparing your home and having an evacuation plan, maintaining the right coverage can hopefully give you some peace of mind when you see one headed your way. While there's no one specific policy that will protect your home and possessions from the wind, rain, and flood waters, a combination of policies can help you before and after the storm.