Hurricane deductible: what a percentage costs you on a claim
A 2 percent hurricane deductible on a $350,000 dwelling limit is $7,000: on $18,000 of storm damage the insurer pays $11,000, not $17,000.
Independent site, not an insurer or a broker. ZIP code figures are the Treasury's for 2018 to 2022.
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
The insurer would pay
$11,000
Deductible $7,000: you keep $7,000 of the $18,000 damage.
| Full percentage deductible | $7,000 |
| Paid with the flat deductible instead | $17,000 |
| Extra you carry because of the percentage | $6,000 |
| 2% of this dwelling limit | $7,000 |
| 5% of this dwelling limit | $17,500 |
| 10% of this dwelling limit | $35,000 |
The percentage applies to the dwelling limit, not to the damage. Wind, hail and named-storm deductibles work the same way where a policy uses them.
Compiled by Radif Partners · Where the numbers come from · Treasury FIO data, BLS indexes and the texts cited below · not a quote
A hurricane, named storm or wind deductible is usually a percentage of the dwelling limit, Coverage A, not of the damage. On a house insured for $350,000, a 2 percent deductible is $7,000 and a 5 percent one is $17,500, against perhaps $1,000 for a kitchen fire. With $18,000 of roof and siding damage from a storm, the insurer pays $11,000 at 2 percent and $500 at 5 percent. Florida law requires insurers to offer hurricane deductibles of $500, 2, 5 and 10 percent, and applies the deductible once per calendar year to all hurricanes with the same insurer, which the calculator handles. Choosing a higher percentage lowers the premium, and premiums on the coast are the highest in the Treasury file: the median ZIP code of Palm Beach County paid $8,444 per policy in 2022, against $1,551 nationally. The data stop in 2022.
A percentage of the house, not of the damage
The all-other-perils deductible is a flat amount, often $1,000 or $2,500. The hurricane deductible written on most coastal policies is a percentage, and the percentage applies to the dwelling limit printed on the declarations page. That is why it surprises people: on a modest storm claim, the deductible can take most of the payment. The table shows the amounts the Florida options produce for two common limits.
| Option required in Florida | Dwelling limit $250,000 | Dwelling limit $400,000 |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | $500 | $500 |
| 2% of Coverage A | $5,000 | $8,000 |
| 5% of Coverage A | $12,500 | $20,000 |
| 10% of Coverage A | $25,000 | $40,000 |
The calculator above also shows what the same claim would pay under the flat deductible. The difference, $6,000 in the example of $18,000 of damage at 2 percent, is the part of the storm risk you have taken on in exchange for a lower premium.
The Florida rules
Florida's statute (Fla. Stat. 627.701) is the most detailed. Insurers must offer deductibles of $500, 2 percent, 5 percent and 10 percent of the dwelling limit, and the hurricane deductible applies once per calendar year: when two hurricanes hit the same house in one season with the same insurer, the second claim uses whatever is left of the hurricane deductible, or the all-other-perils deductible if that is larger. The advanced fields of the calculator take the amount already absorbed this year for that reason. The hurricane deductible applies only to losses from a hurricane as the policy defines it; a summer thunderstorm uses the ordinary deductible.
Two storms in one season
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
The insurer would pay
$24,500
| Full percentage deductible | $17,500 |
| Paid with the flat deductible instead | $29,000 |
| Extra you carry because of the percentage | $4,500 |
| 2% of this dwelling limit | $7,000 |
Other coastal states
Most states from Texas to Maine allow percentage hurricane or named storm deductibles, with their own triggers, often a hurricane watch or warning issued by the National Weather Service, and their own limits on the percentages. Inland, many policies carry a percentage wind and hail deductible instead, which applies to any wind or hail loss and not only to named storms. The policy's deductible endorsement names the trigger; it is worth reading before the season, not after a storm.
What coastal owners pay
The Treasury file shows how much of the premium on the coast is storm risk. In 2022, the median ZIP code of Palm Beach County paid $8,444 per policy and Broward $6,148, while Florida as a whole was at $3,211. Charleston County in South Carolina paid $3,279 against $1,460 for the state; Baldwin County in Alabama $2,281; Harrison County in Mississippi $2,819. In Louisiana, the paid loss ratio reached 76% in 2021, the year of Hurricane Ida, with 12.6 paid claims per 100 policies. Many of these owners also have a wind pool or Citizens policy, which the file does not include, so the real cost is higher.
Picking a percentage
A higher hurricane deductible lowers the premium; how much depends on the insurer and the area, and the only way to know is to ask for quotes at each option. The test is whether you could pay the deductible in cash after a storm, along with the costs a policy does not cover. If 5 percent of the dwelling limit is more than your emergency savings, the saving on the premium is buying risk you cannot carry. A lender may also cap the deductible you are allowed to choose. Remember that flood is a separate policy everywhere, and that storm surge damage is flood, not wind.
Wind pools and split policies
In parts of the coast, private insurers exclude wind entirely, and the owner buys wind coverage from a state pool such as the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association or a beach plan. Each policy then has its own deductible: the private one for fire and theft, the pool's for wind. Two deductibles on one storm are possible when both wind and another covered peril cause damage. The FAIR plan page lists the plans state by state, with the link to each one.
Making a hurricane claim
Photograph the damage before temporary repairs, keep receipts for tarps and boarding, and report the claim quickly. The insurer applies the hurricane deductible to the whole hurricane loss at the dwelling, other structures and contents together under most forms, not to each part separately. If the roof is old, the settlement may also be at actual cash value, which reduces the payment further, as the roof claim calculator shows.