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Windstorm insurance for homes: Are you covered?

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Does your homeowners’ insurance provide adequate coverage for hurricanes and other windstorms? Although standard homeowners’ policies often include windstorm coverage, it may be excluded in some regions with significant windstorm risks. If it is missing from your home insurance policy, you may still be able to add windstorm coverage.

Windstorm Coverage in Home Insurance

Homeowners’ insurance coverage can vary depending on the insurance company, the state and the individual policy. However, one of the most common types of homeowners’ policies is the HO-3 form, which provides coverage for the following 16 perils:

  1. Fire or lightning
  2. Windstorm or hail
  3. Riot or civil commotion
  4. Explosion
  5. Damage caused by aircraft
  6. Damage caused by vehicles
  7. Smoke
  8. Vandalism
  9. Theft
  10. Volcanic eruption
  11. Falling object
  12. Weight of ice, snow or sleet
  13. Accidental water overflow or steam from plumbing, heating, AC, automatic fire-protective sprinkler system or a household appliance
  14. Sudden and accidental tearing apart, cracking, burning or bulging of a steam or hot water heating system, AC or automatic fire-protective sprinkler system
  15. Freezing of a plumbing, heating, AC, automatic fire-protective sprinkler system or a household appliance
  16. Sudden and accidental damage from electrical current

While this list is certainly long, it doesn’t include everything. Some notable exclusions include earthquakes, wear and tear, pests and floods.

This means that under a standard homeowners’ insurance policy, homeowners typically have coverage for wind and hail damage that could arise from a hurricane, tornado or other windstorm. However, they do not have coverage for flooding associated with hurricanes, tropical storms, flash floods or other storms.

Windstorm Exclusions in Hurricane-Prone Areas

In areas more prone to windstorms, including hurricanes, windstorm exclusions are common. For example, in Hawaii, home insurance typically excludes wind-related damage, but homeowners can buy hurricane insurance as a supplemental coverage to secure this protection.

Windstorm exclusions are also common along the Gulf Coast, where hurricanes are a significant threat. If you live in this region, your home policy will likely exclude wind, hurricane and hail damage. To secure this protection, you need to purchase windstorm coverage – and, if you have a mortgage loan and live in a high-risk area, you may even be required to do so by your lender.

Is windstorm insurance the same as hurricane insurance?

Windstorm insurance provides coverage for damage from wind or hail caused by a storm, such as a hurricane, tornado or thunderstorm. It is sometimes called hurricane insurance, but it’s important to note that flood insurance is a separate type of coverage. For this reason, the term “hurricane insurance” can cause confusion.

What about flood insurance?

Flood damage is excluded from standard homeowners’ policies. Hurricanes and other storms can bring massive flooding, and homes may be severely damaged or even destroyed as a result. Unfortunately, homeowners are often surprised to learn that their homeowner’s policy won’t cover the loss.

Many homes have a risk of flooding, even if they’re not located near the ocean or another body of water. Flood insurance provides protection. Depending on where you live, it can be purchased through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or through private insurance companies.

Learn More About Flood Insurance

Is windstorm insurance required?

Homeowners’ insurance, including windstorm and flood coverage, is not a legal requirement. However, mortgage lenders typically require coverage on homes that they’re financing. If you have a mortgage, you’re likely required to maintain homeowners’ insurance as a condition for your loan. Your lender may also require you to carry flood insurance and windstorm insurance, although this depends on the risks in your region and, in the case of windstorm insurance, whether this coverage is included under your home insurance policy.

If you don’t secure the coverage your lender requires or let your policy lapse, your lender will likely purchase a forced-placed insurance policy that you will have to pay for along with your mortgage payments. While it may sound like a simple way to get coverage, it’s not a good deal for you: forced-placed policies tend to be expensive and don’t provide the same protections that a traditional homeowners’ policy does. For example, home insurance policies provide personal property and liability coverage, but forced-placed policies do not. In other words, you could end up paying more for less protection, so it’s much better to maintain the coverage required by your lender.

If you own your home outright, you probably are not obligated to maintain home insurance. And, even if you have a loan, your lender may not require that you add flood or windstorm coverage to your homeowners’ policy. However, this does not mean that you should go without these coverages.

Consider what would happen if a storm severely damaged your home. Where would you live if your home was uninhabitable? Could you afford to pay tens – or even hundreds – of thousands of dollars to repair your home? How would the loss of your furniture, clothes, electronics and other personal belongings impact you?

Home insurance with added windstorm coverage can help cover repairs, lost personal property and additional living expenses while your home is undergoing repairs, making this a smart protection for your home.

close up shot of yellow siding house over storm clouds.

Is your home protected?

Don’t wait until a storm is approaching to try to secure coverage – at that point, it will likely be too late, and you won’t be able to buy coverage that goes into effect soon enough to protect you from the imminent storm. Instead, you should review your coverage with your insurance advisor and determine if you need additional coverage while the skies are still clear.

Here are a few questions to consider when thinking about your coverage needs:

  • Does your policy exclude wind and hail damage? Most home policies include this protection, but if you live in an area with significant hurricane exposures, such as the Texas Gulf Coast, you may need to add windstorm coverage to your policy.
  • Do you need flood insurance? Homeowners’ insurance typically doesn’t cover flood damage, so you may want to add this coverage to your existing policy as well.
  • Are your limits sufficient? If your home has increased in value, you may need to increase your policy limits. You should also consider the limits for your personal property, liability coverage and additional living expenses.
  • Do you have replacement cost coverage? The value of your roof depreciates over time. If you have actual cash value coverage and your roof is damaged or destroyed, your policy will only pay the current value of your roof, which may not be enough for a new roof. Because of this, replacement cost coverage may offer better protection.
  • Can you afford your deductible? If you have a claim, you’ll be responsible for the deductible, so it’s important to have enough savings to cover this. However, going with a higher deductible may bring down the cost of your monthly premiums.

If you need help reviewing your current homeowners’ coverage or securing a comprehensive home insurance policy, Higginbotham is here to help. Talk to one of our home insurance specialists today.

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