Will my insurance cover hurricane damage?

Whether or not the damage caused by a hurricane is covered by your insurance depends on the type of damage, and the exact wording of your policy. Home insurance will cover damage caused by wind, but if the damage is a result of tidal surge or heavy rains, you may need to have flood insurance for your home to be covered. This type of insurance is often required by the lender before you can purchase a home in a flood-prone region.

Where car insurance is concerned, damage caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes is typically part of comprehensive coverage. That type of insurance includes wind, flood and other damages, but does not name any natural disasters. Since hurricane damage is usually either caused by high winds or torrential rains, it is not necessary to single out hurricanes or to provide special hurricane insurance for vehicles.

The typical Homeowners insurance policy covers storm damage related to high winds, including damage to your roof, the siding or broken windows. You will probably be required to pay a deductible on the policy before the claim can be settled, so be careful not to set your deductible beyond your financial means when purchasing a policy. Higher deductibles mean lower premiums, but if you cannot comfortably pay the deductible amount it could prevent you from settling an otherwise legitimate claim.

Flood insurance is a good idea in most areas, but some regions will require it as part of the mortgage contract. If the In many states, all insurers contribute to a general flood insurance account that is managed by the state or a specialized agency. In this way, natural disasters such as hurricanes become the burden of all the insurance companies in the state rather than allowing some companies to avoid the responsibility by excluding flood coverage completely. The cost of flood insurance will vary according to the flood risk and may be expensive to maintain in a region where flooding occurs regularly.