Wind, Hail and Hurricane Deductibles on Homeowners Insurance

How much will I pay for storm damage with a percentage deductible?

A deductible is the part of a claim you pay before your insurer pays anything. On many home policies, storm damage gets its own deductible, and it is not a flat dollar amount. It is a percentage of what your house is insured for, and industry researchers at Triple-I say 1% to 5% is typical.

That insured amount is your dwelling limit, which some policies call Coverage A. It is what the policy would pay to rebuild your house, and it is printed on the declarations page, the summary page at the front of your policy. Say your limit is $300,000 and the storm deductible is 2%. You pay the first $6,000 of damage. At 5% you pay $15,000.

Two things catch people out. The percentage applies to your limit, never to the size of the damage. And when your limit rises at renewal, your dollar deductible rises with it. Florida makes insurers warn you when automatic limit increases could push the deductible above the printed figure.

Why can a hail claim pay nothing?

Because the deductible comes off first. The Texas Department of Insurance gives a plain example. A house is insured for $150,000, and hail wrecks the roof. The repair costs $6,500.

With a flat $500 deductible, the insurer pays $6,000. With a 5% deductible, which is $7,500, it pays nothing. The repair was cheaper than the deductible.

That is the trade behind a low premium. You pay less each month and carry more of the risk when a storm hits. It is a fair choice if you can cover the gap and you know you are making it.

What is the difference between a hurricane deductible and a wind/hail deductible?

A hurricane or named-storm deductible applies only when the National Hurricane Center has declared a hurricane or named storm. A wind/hail deductible applies to wind or hail damage from any storm, including thunderstorms and tornadoes. Your policy may have both. Find each one on your declarations page and turn it into dollars.

Triple-I counts 19 states plus Washington, D.C. with hurricane deductibles, mostly along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Inland owners are not off the hook. Kentucky’s insurance department reported more complaints because many owners did not realize their wind and hail deductible had changed. Iowa’s insurance division tells owners to look for hail-specific deductibles and claim deadlines.

Do I pay the hurricane deductible again for a second storm?

Not in full, if you live in Florida or Louisiana. In both states the hurricane or named-storm deductible works over the calendar year. If an earlier storm used up part of it, the insurer can charge the larger of what is left or your regular deductible for the next storm.

Here is how that could play out. Your hurricane deductible is $15,000 and your regular deductible is $1,000. The first storm does $11,000 of damage. You get nothing, but $4,000 of the deductible is still unused. A later storm does $9,000 of damage. You pay $4,000 and the insurer pays $5,000. These numbers are an example.

Both states let insurers ask for records of losses that fell below the deductible. Keep photos and receipts even when you do not file. In other states the rule may be per storm, so ask. For ordinary deductibles, Texas regulators say they apply to each claim, not each year.

How does my roof’s age change what I get paid?

Quite a lot. Insurers pay for a roof in one of three ways, and you should know which one is on your policy.

• Replacement cost pays to put on a new roof, minus your deductible, whatever the age of the old one.
• Actual cash value (ACV) pays replacement cost minus depreciation, which is a deduction for age and wear, and then minus your deductible.
• A roof payment schedule pays a set share of replacement cost that drops as the roof ages.

The Texas Department of Insurance shows the difference. A house is insured for $200,000, the deductible is 2% ($4,000), and a storm destroys a roof that costs $10,000 to replace. Under replacement cost you get $6,000 at any age. Under ACV you get $4,500 for a 5-year-old roof and $3,000 for a 10-year-old roof. For a 20-year-old roof you get nothing.

A payment schedule falls in between. One insurer’s sample for ordinary shingles pays 80% of replacement cost at 10 years old, 70% at 15, 60% at 20 and 25% from 35 on. Impact-rated roofs get somewhat more. That is one company’s form, and yours will differ, so ask for the schedule page before you buy.

Age matters before the storm too. IBHS, a property-loss research group, says a roof can last 20 years. In severe-hail areas, insurance data show roofs often need replacing every 7 to 10 years.

Under replacement cost, most insurers send a first check for the repair estimate minus depreciation and your deductible. The rest comes after the work is done.

Florida also lets insurers add a separate roof deductible. It is capped at the lesser of 2% of your dwelling limit or half the cost of a new roof. It only applies to roofs paid at replacement cost, it must come with a premium credit, and you can turn it down by signing an approved form.

What would a $16,000 roof claim look like?

Picture this. Hail damages your roof. Your dwelling limit is $300,000, your wind/hail deductible is 2%, so $6,000, and a new roof costs $16,000. All the numbers here are examples. Here is what you would collect, depending on how your policy pays for the roof:

• Replacement cost: the insurer pays $10,000 and you pay $6,000.
• ACV, 8-year-old roof: the insurer pays $3,600 and you pay $12,400.
• ACV, 15-year-old roof: the insurer pays nothing and you pay $16,000.
• Payment schedule at 70%, 15-year-old roof: the insurer pays $5,200 and you pay $10,800.

The ACV lines assume the roof wears out evenly over 20 years. The schedule line takes the deductible off after applying the 70%. The hail was identical every time. Only the policy terms changed, and your share swung from $6,000 to $16,000.

Do state rules change any of this?

Yes, mostly in when the storm deductible switches on. In Florida it starts when a hurricane warning is issued for any part of the state. In Connecticut it applies only if the hurricane brings sustained winds of at least 74 mph somewhere in the state. In North Carolina a named-storm deductible starts at an advisory, a watch or a warning. A tropical storm can trigger it there, but not Connecticut’s hurricane deductible.

States also decide what insurers must tell you. Florida insurers must offer you a choice of hurricane deductibles. South Carolina insurers must say whether a separate storm deductible applies and show an example. The details table below covers six states. For your own state, see our pages on Florida, Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Connecticut.

On the Texas coast, a regular home policy may leave out wind and hail. Some North Carolina insurers do too. You then buy that cover separately, for example from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) in Texas, and it has its own deductible.

Can roof or window upgrades lower my deductible?

Sometimes, and the rules differ by state. Florida insurers must offer a choice of a lower hurricane deductible or a discount if your home has wind-protection features. South Carolina insurers must tell you what credits exist at purchase and at every renewal. Connecticut insurers must offer a discount for permanent shutters or impact-resistant glass.

In Texas, impact-resistant roofing is graded Class 1 to 4, and Class 4 earns the biggest credit. Each insurer sets the amount and the paperwork. None of the sources we read gives a standard percentage, so we do not either. Ask for the credit in writing and keep your installation records.

What to do next

1. List every deductible on each quote. Check the declarations page for the all-perils, wind/hail, named-storm or hurricane, and roof lines. Convert each percentage to dollars using the dwelling limit.
2. Ask when the storm deductible applies. What starts and ends the window, does a tropical storm count, and is it yearly or per storm?
3. Ask how the roof is paid. Replacement cost, ACV or a payment schedule? Get the schedule page if there is one.
4. Price the trade. Divide the extra deductible by the yearly premium saving. Say moving a $300,000 policy from 1% to 2% saves you $200 a year, an invented figure. The extra $3,000 of risk takes 15 storm-free years to pay back. Texas regulators say going from a $500 to a $1,000 deductible can cut premiums by as much as 20 percent, but that is a general figure, not a wind figure.
5. Check your cash. Could you pay the deductible within days of a storm? In Florida you and your insurer can agree on a “secured” hurricane deductible, backed by a line of credit or an extra policy. An insurer cannot require one.
6. Ask your mortgage lender whether your loan limits the deductible. We could not confirm a national cap.

What mistakes cost owners money?

• Reading 2% as 2% of the loss.
• Comparing premiums without matching the deductibles in dollars.
• Tossing the receipts for hurricane damage that fell below the deductible. Florida and Louisiana insurers may count them toward the next storm.
• Letting a roofer cover your deductible. Texas law puts the payment on you, and the insurer can hold back the depreciation part of your claim until you prove you paid.
• Waiting to buy wind coverage. Texas regulators say TWIA will not sell while a hurricane is in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Assuming a hurricane deductible means flood is covered. In Florida, rain that gets in after wind opens your roof counts as hurricane damage, but rising water does not. Read our flood insurance guide.

Where can I check my area’s hail and hurricane risk?

FEMA’s National Risk Index scores counties and census tracts for 18 natural hazards, including hail, hurricane, strong wind and tornado. It shows whether your risk is mostly coastal storms or inland hail. FEMA released version 1.20 in December 2025. It says the old web application is gone and points to its RAPT tool and OpenFEMA downloads. The index measures hazard, not your premium or your odds of a claim.

The details, in one table

We could not open Louisiana’s legislature site, so the Louisiana row rests on a law firm’s quotation of the statute and a search extract. Check it with the Louisiana Department of Insurance.

Bottom line

If you can pay the full storm deductible from savings and you want a lower premium, a higher percentage can make sense. If a bill of several thousand dollars would hurt, choose a lower deductible (or a flat dollar one, where offered), and say yes to any credit you qualify for. If your roof is old, ask how it is paid before you look at price, because that may cost you more than the percentage. Either way, compare quotes in dollars.