Every homeowner’s insurance policy is different—but one thing you need to check yours for is hurricane coverage.
What is Hurricane Coverage?
Standard homeowner’s insurance typically doesn’t cover flooding, so you may need a separate policy (a flood insurance policy, to be exact) in case there’s hurricane-related flooding. Remember, too, that flood insurance policies usually don’t take effect for up to 30 days—and that means you need to get it before the next hurricane season rolls around.
Most home insurance policies do cover wind damage, so if your home experiences some hurricane fallout that’s wind-related, you should be in great shape after paying your deductible… but double-check with your insurer to be certain.
What is a Hurricane Deductible?
Many homeowner’s insurance policies have separate hurricane deductibles. These deductibles are usually only activated if a storm makes landfall with sustained wind speeds greater than 74 miles per hour.
For the most part, these deductibles are expressed in percentages. They’re often between 1 percent and 5 percent of a home’s insured value, and that’s the amount your deductible will be if your home sustains hurricane damage. For example, if your home is insured at a value of $100,000, your deductible could be between $1,000 and $5,000.
Interestingly, Superstorm Sandy wasn’t strong enough to be considered a hurricane—but the storm caused $19 billion in damage, which means homeowners saved millions of dollars because they didn’t have to pay hurricane deductibles.
Are You Buying a Home in Lake City?
If you’re trying to find land for sale or a home for sale in Lake City or the surrounding communities, we’d be happy to help.
Call us at 386-243-0124 or contact us online to tell us what you’re looking for; we’ll start searching right away.