The wind and hail deductible nobody expects.
Look on your declarations page for a separate wind, hail, hurricane, or named storm deductible. If it is written as a percentage rather than a dollar amount, multiply it by your dwelling coverage, not by the size of the claim. That number is what you pay before the policy pays anything, and it is routinely several times the ordinary deductible people have in mind.
Work it out today rather than during a claim.
How it actually works
An ordinary deductible is a flat sum: the policy pays the loss minus that amount. A percentage deductible is calculated against Coverage A, the dwelling limit, which is the cost to rebuild the house. It is not calculated against the claim and it is not calculated against the market value.
So on a house with a dwelling limit of 400,000 dollars:
- A 1 percent wind deductible is 4,000 dollars.
- A 2 percent is 8,000 dollars.
- A 5 percent, which exists in some coastal policies, is 20,000 dollars.
A 12,000 dollar roof claim with a 2 percent deductible pays 4,000 dollars. The same claim with a flat 1,000 dollar deductible pays 11,000. Same damage, same policy limit, completely different outcome.
Where to find yours
On the declarations page, usually near the top with the other deductibles. Look for any of:
- Wind and hail deductible
- Windstorm deductible
- Hurricane deductible
- Named storm deductible
- Tropical cyclone deductible
They are not all the same thing, and the difference matters:
Wind and hail applies to any wind event, including an ordinary thunderstorm.
Hurricane or named storm applies only when a named system triggers it, and the trigger is defined in the policy: often from the point a watch or warning is issued for your area until a set number of hours after it is lifted. Outside that window, the ordinary deductible applies. Two roof claims a month apart can therefore carry completely different deductibles.
If you cannot find it, call and ask them to point at it. Then write it down.
The questions to ask your agent
Ask all five, and get the answers in writing:
- Is my wind and hail deductible a flat amount or a percentage?
- What dollar figure does that percentage come to today?
- Is it triggered by any wind event or only by a named storm?
- What is the trigger window, exactly?
- Is roof surfacing settled at replacement cost or actual cash value?
That last one compounds with the deductible. A depreciated roof settlement, minus a percentage deductible, can leave a genuinely covered claim paying very little.
What to do about it
If the number shocks you, ask what a lower percentage costs. It is a trade: a lower deductible means a higher premium. In high risk areas insurers may not offer a flat deductible at all.
Set the money aside if you cannot change it. A percentage deductible is a known, calculable amount, which makes it one of the few financial surprises in this whole category that you can prepare for exactly.
Reconsider small claims. If the deductible exceeds the damage, filing achieves nothing and puts a claim on your record. Report the event, because notice protects you if more damage emerges, and then decide whether to pursue it.
Watch for the roof schedule. Some policies pay a declining percentage of roof replacement cost by age. Combined with a percentage deductible, an older roof can be worth claiming only after a total loss.
The scam this creates
A large deductible is exactly why some contractors after a storm offer to “handle” it, “waive” it, or “build it into the estimate”. In most states that is insurance fraud, the homeowner is a party to it, and it invalidates the claim.
More on who knocks on the door after a storm.
One deductible per event, usually
If a single storm damages the roof, the siding, and a shed, that is one claim and one deductible. If two separate storms damage the same roof three weeks apart, that is usually two events and two deductibles, which is another reason to repair promptly rather than wait and see.
The short version
Find the wind and hail line on your declarations page. If it is a percentage, multiply it by the dwelling limit, not the claim, and write the number down. Ask whether it is triggered by any wind or only by a named storm, and ask whether your roof is settled at actual cash value. Nobody may waive or absorb it for you.