Home Insurance: Hurricane Insurance 101

Do you really need hurricane insurance? This is a question many homeowners ponder about.

Sadly, there are many states and regions that are plagued with seasonal hurricanes. A hurricane is no joke as it is amongst the most destructive weather phenomena in existence. It can destroy homes with its powerful winds and can cause devastating floods that can ruin properties and destroy livelihoods of many families.

Hurricane Katrina had made the general public more aware of the overwhelming force and the destruction hurricanes unleash. So if you are situated in a place where hurricanes regularly occur, it can be quite terrifying as you don’t want to lose your house or have severe damage to your properties and investments. Of course, you can change the location of residence but that’s simply impractical. This is why Hurricane Insurance is essential to have especially when you are always hit by hurricanes.

Unfortunately, hurricane insurance has steady increasing rates. It is not just the premiums, but the deductibles are mounting as well. There are also many cases of insurance providers dropping policy holders that stay in high risk regions.

There are various factors that have caused the rising rates of hurricane insurance. Reinsurance and the escalating number of claims related to hurricanes are two major issues and this is in addition to the present economic crisis. This has impacted insurance providers in bad way and as a result, they are forced to increase overall rates and become more stringent on hurricane insurance.

The present state of things regarding hurricane insurance is quite disheartening for people living on the path of seasonal hurricanes. Lucky for some who does not need the protection against hurricanes but there are still many out there that requires that assurance.

Your basic home insurance may already cover you

Normally, your basic policy may already have the coverage to protect you from the potential damage brought about by hurricanes. Because of this and depending on many aspects, you may not really need hurricane insurance. However, you will never know if you do not review your home insurance policy since damages caused by hurricanes are now being excluded by an increasing number of insurance companies. If you need the protection, you may have to buy that extra cover.

Take into consideration that even with the coverage, you may still need to have cash to protect yourself just in case. Keep in mind that deductibles for damage caused by hurricanes are normally a fraction of the value of your home and this can be rather expensive.

Hurricane Insurance does not include floods

One common misconception about hurricane insurance is that it includes flood insurance. On contrary, the two are very different insurance entities and you may need to purchase both insurances to become fully protected. Hurricane insurance is often limited to wind damages and does not include flooding even when the obvious cause is the hurricane.

One Final Thought

Hurricanes can, more often than not, cause flooding and molds in your homes. Aside from the repairs, which are usually covered by most insurance policies, you may need to change your living arrangements and relocate for awhile but bear in mind that this is not included in the coverage. Mold problems are normally excluded as well. These things may very well happen after a hurricane visit and if you want absolute peace of mind and security, you may need to consider buying these additional covers on top of your hurricane insurance.