Does Windstorm Insurance Cover Hurricanes?

Windstorm insurance and hurricanes are terms property owners, especially in coastal regions, frequently encounter. Hurricanes are powerful tropical cyclones with sustained winds of 74 mph or more, forming over warm ocean waters and causing widespread damage. Understanding how insurance policies respond to these events is important for financial preparedness. This article clarifies the role of windstorm insurance in covering hurricane-related damage.

Understanding Windstorm Insurance

Windstorm insurance provides specific coverage for damage caused by high winds, hailstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. This type of policy typically covers structural components of a home, such as roofs, windows, siding, and exterior walls, if they are damaged by wind forces. Some policies may also extend to personal property inside the home, provided the windstorm creates an opening in the structure that allows items to be damaged.

While standard homeowners insurance policies often include some coverage for wind damage, this coverage may be limited or entirely excluded in areas with a high risk of severe windstorms. In these high-risk regions, property owners frequently need to purchase windstorm insurance as a separate policy or an endorsement to their existing homeowners insurance. This specialized coverage ensures protection against the perils of wind and hail that might otherwise be underinsured or excluded.

However, windstorm insurance typically has specific exclusions. It generally does not cover flood damage, storm surge, tidal waves, or water damage that does not directly result from wind creating an opening in the property’s structure. Damage due to negligence, pre-existing issues, or certain detached structures like sheds and fences might also be excluded. Understanding the precise terms of a windstorm policy is important to avoid gaps in coverage.

Hurricane Damage and Coverage Types

A hurricane causes various types of damage, primarily categorized into wind-related and water-related impacts. Hurricane-force winds can cause destruction, tearing off roofs, damaging siding, breaking windows, and compromising a building’s structural integrity. Windstorm insurance policies are designed to cover these direct wind-related damages from a hurricane.

The damage caused by water during a hurricane, however, presents a different insurance consideration. Hurricanes frequently bring heavy rainfall, leading to inland flooding, and their powerful winds can generate storm surge, which is an abnormal rise in water levels above the predicted astronomical tide. Damage from storm surge, overflowing bodies of water, or general flooding is explicitly excluded from standard windstorm insurance policies.

To protect against water-related damage from a hurricane, property owners need a separate flood insurance policy. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is the primary source of flood insurance for many properties. A flood insurance policy covers damage directly caused by flooding, while windstorm insurance covers damage directly caused by wind.

The distinction between wind and water damage becomes relevant when a hurricane makes landfall. For instance, if a roof is damaged by high winds, allowing rain to enter and cause interior damage, the initial wind damage and subsequent rain damage entering through the wind-created opening would typically fall under windstorm coverage. Conversely, if water enters the property due to rising floodwaters or storm surge, that damage would require a flood insurance policy to be covered.

Key Policy Considerations

When considering windstorm insurance, especially in hurricane-prone areas, understanding policy elements like hurricane deductibles is important. Unlike standard deductibles, which are often a fixed dollar amount, hurricane deductibles are typically calculated as a percentage of the dwelling’s insured value. These percentages range from 1% to 5%, though they can be higher in high-risk locations. For example, a 2% hurricane deductible on a home insured for $400,000 would mean the property owner is responsible for the first $8,000 of covered damage.

Hurricane deductibles are triggered under specific circumstances, usually defined within the policy language. Triggers often include the National Weather Service officially naming a tropical storm or hurricane, or issuing a hurricane watch or warning for the area. The deductible may apply for a defined period, such as beginning when a watch or warning is issued and extending for a certain number of hours after it is lifted. This differs from a general wind/hail deductible, which might apply to non-hurricane wind events.

In many cases, the hurricane deductible applies on an annual basis, meaning that if multiple hurricanes impact a property within the same calendar year, the deductible might only need to be met once. Policyholders should review their specific insurance documents to understand how this annual application works and if there are any conditions, such as remaining with the same insurer. Reviewing the policy language clarifies the triggers and the deductible amount.