Does insurance cover storm damage?

Wind and hail damage is covered by most homeowners policies, including the water that gets in through what the wind opened. Water that rose from the ground is flood, which is excluded almost universally and needs a separate policy. Nearly every storm argument sits on that line.

Report it the same week, and ask what deductible applies before you authorize anything.

The three questions a storm claim turns on

1. Did the storm make the opening, or was it already failing? Most policies cover sudden damage from wind and hail and exclude wear, age, and poor maintenance. A branch through the roof is not in dispute. A twenty year old roof leaking at a chimney in heavy rain is exactly the case an adjuster treats as maintenance. Which is why the photographs and the date matter more than anything else.

2. How did the water arrive? Through the hole the wind made: covered. Rising from the ground, running across the surface, or backing up through a drain: not, without separate cover. Water that comes in at ground level is its own trap.

3. Did you mitigate? Once you know there is an opening, the policy expects you to stop further damage. The cost of doing that is usually part of the claim. Damage that accumulates after you knew and did nothing is the part that gets declined. Emergency tarping, and who pays for it.

What is usually covered

Wind damage to the roof, siding, gutters, windows, and outbuildings.
Hail damage, subject to any cosmetic exclusion.
Rain entering through damage a covered peril created.
A tree falling on the house, and usually its removal from the structure up to a limit.
Damage to contents from either of the above.
Additional living expenses if the house is genuinely uninhabitable.
Food spoilage in some policies, usually with a small sub-limit.

What is usually not

Flood. Rising water, surface water, storm surge. Separate policy, and those normally have a waiting period, so it cannot be bought during a storm.
Damage to a tree that fell in the yard and hit nothing. Most policies pay to remove a tree that hits a covered structure and nothing to remove one that did not.
Wear, rot, and deferred maintenance, including a roof at the end of its life.
Cosmetic damage, where the policy carries that exclusion. It is aimed at dented metal.
A fence or a shed, sometimes limited to a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than covered fully.
Anything outside, in some policies: awnings, screens, patio covers, and satellite dishes are commonly restricted for wind.

The deductible is the thing to check first

In storm exposed states, wind and hail frequently carry their own deductible expressed as a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat sum. It can be several times the ordinary deductible, and on a marginal claim it can mean there is nothing worth claiming.

Find yours before you authorize work. How percentage deductibles work, and how to calculate what yours costs you.

Actual cash value, and the roof

The other thing that surprises people. Many policies settle roof surfacing at actual cash value, meaning replacement cost less depreciation for age, while settling the rest of the claim at replacement cost. A fifteen year old roof can be genuinely covered and still pay out a fraction of what a new roof costs.

Look on the declarations page for a roof surfacing endorsement, a roof schedule, or the words actual cash value applied to roof coverings. If you have one and did not know, that is worth a conversation with your agent at renewal rather than during a claim.

Doing it in the right order

Photograph everything before touching anything.
Report the same week. Some policies have tightened the reporting window for hail specifically.
Ask three questions and write down the answers: what is my deductible on this claim, is roof surfacing replacement cost or actual cash value, and is emergency mitigation covered.
Mitigate, and keep the receipts.
Get your own inspection from a roofer or licensed inspector, with photographs of every slope.
Do not sign a repair contract before the adjuster has been, unless it is genuine emergency work. Especially not with someone who arrived uninvited.

If it is denied or underpaid

Common, and not the end of it. In rough order:

Ask for the adjuster’s report and their photographs.
Get an independent inspection and submit it.
Ask for a re-inspection with your roofer present at the same time. This resolves more disputes than correspondence does.
Read the appraisal clause in your policy. It is a formal process for resolving a disagreement about amount, not about coverage.
Contact your state insurance department, which takes complaints and often prompts a review.

Public adjusters exist for large claims and work on a percentage. They can be worth it on a big loss and are rarely worth it on a small one.

Renting

Your landlord’s policy covers the building and nothing you own. A renters policy covers your belongings and usually additional living expenses. The wider split between landlord and tenant.

The short version

Wind and hail yes, ground water no, wear no. The date and the photographs decide the first argument. Check your wind and hail deductible and whether your roof is settled at actual cash value before you authorize any work, because both change what a claim is actually worth.