Your declarations page may show two or three deductibles. The flat one, $1,000 say, covers most claims. A hurricane, named storm or wind and hail deductible is usually a percentage, and it is a percentage of your dwelling coverage, not of the damage. After a storm, that is often the biggest number on the claim that nobody explained.
North Carolina comes first below, because that is where our reviewer is licensed. Other states write these rules differently, and your own policy's endorsement is what decides your claim.
How to work out yours
Find the dwelling limit (Coverage A) on your declarations page and multiply. The North Carolina Department of Insurance gives the example: "A 2% named storm deductible on a home insured for $300,000, would be $6,000."
| Deductible | On a $300,000 dwelling limit |
|---|---|
| 1% | $3,000 |
| 2% | $6,000 |
| 5% | $15,000 |
The insurer takes the deductible off the covered damage. With a $6,000 deductible, $20,000 of covered damage pays $14,000, and $5,000 of damage pays nothing. Depreciation can come off as well; recoverable depreciation explains how to get that part back.
Two percent of your dwelling limit, not two percent of the damage.
Do the math again whenever your dwelling limit goes up. The percentage stays the same; the dollars don't.
Which deductible applies
Policies use three kinds, and the label alone doesn't tell you when each one applies:
- Named storm. NC DOI defines a named storm as "a weather-related event involving wind that has been assigned a formal name by the National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, World Meteorological Association or any other generally recognized scientific or meteorological association." It "includes hurricanes, tropical depressions and tropical storms."
- Hurricane. Narrower: it applies only to storms the policy's definition counts as hurricanes.
- Wind or hail. Any wind or hail damage, named storm or not. NC DOI's example: "a 1% deductible would mean you'd pay $2,000 out of pocket for every wind or hail related claim" on a $200,000 home.
Read the deductible endorsement for the definition and the time window together. When an adjuster says "the storm deductible," ask which one, and ask to see the arithmetic.
When North Carolina's named storm window opens and closes
NC DOI describes the window this way. The named storm deductible applies:
Beginning at the time an advisory, watch or warning for a "named storm" is issued or declared for any part of the state of North Carolina by the National Weather Service; and ending 24 hours following: the termination of the last watch or warning for a "named storm" for any part of North Carolina by the National Weather Service; or the issuance of the last advisory for a "named storm" for any part of North Carolina by the National Weather Service, whichever is later.
Two things follow from it:
- The window is statewide. A watch for the Outer Banks opens it for a house in Charlotte or Asheville too.
- It opens early and closes late. It can start days before landfall and runs for 24 hours after the last watch, warning or advisory ends.
Per storm or per season?
NC DOI's guide doesn't say, so your endorsement decides. Look for "per occurrence" or "each loss," which means a second storm brings a second deductible, or "calendar year," which means it doesn't.
Florida, for comparison, sets this in law: its hurricane deductible "applies on an annual basis to all covered hurricane losses that occur during the calendar year" for personal residential policies. Don't assume a North Carolina policy works the same way.
Coastal homes: two policies, two deductibles
Along the coast, some homeowners policies exclude wind and hail, and that coverage comes from a separate policy from the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association, also known as the Coastal Property Insurance Pool. Each policy has its own deductible. One hurricane can mean two claims, so report to both and keep each claim number in your file.
Flood is a third. A hurricane deductible doesn't make flood damage covered: homeowners policies usually exclude flood, and flood insurance is a separate policy with its own deductible and its own deadlines.
Can a contractor cover your deductible?
Some offer to "take care of" it. However a contractor prices the job, the invoice the insurer sees has to show what you actually pay. An invoice inflated to cover your deductible is a false statement in support of a claim, which North Carolina law makes a crime for whoever presents it and whoever helps prepare it (G.S. 58-2-161). Some states go further: Texas bars contractors from waiving or rebating a deductible at all.
If the deductible is more than you can pay at once, ask the contractor for a written payment plan instead.
Is the claim worth filing?
If the damage might be close to your deductible, get a repair estimate before you decide. Storm damage is often bigger than it looks from the ground: lifted shingles, wet insulation and damaged flashing don't show from the yard. A public adjuster's review before you file, which is what Avow arranges, can tell you whether the damage clears the deductible. For the first steps after a storm, see what to do in the first 48 hours after property damage.
Check it at every renewal
NC DOI's homeowners FAQ answers whether an insurer can change your deductible: "Yes. If a company determines that an increase is necessary, the change is usually done at the renewal with notification." Read every renewal notice for a new percentage, and work the dollars out again.
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Before storm season
- Every deductible on the declarations page, written down in dollars
- The named storm or hurricane definition and window, found in the endorsement
- Per occurrence or calendar year wording, found
- Any separate wind or flood policy and its deductible, listed
- Money set aside, or a plan, for the largest deductible
- The renewal notice checked for deductible changes
Sources
- North Carolina Department of Insurance: windstorm and hail
- North Carolina Department of Insurance: homeowners insurance FAQs
- North Carolina General Statutes § 58-2-161
- Florida Department of Financial Services: Florida's hurricane deductible
- Texas Department of Insurance: roofing and insurance, know the law
- FloodSmart: the National Flood Insurance Program
This is general information, not legal advice. Your policy's wording decides what is covered, and rules differ from state to state.