Photograph every room and elevation
Dated pre-storm photos are the cheapest evidence you will ever collect.
Prepare · New Jersey
Hurricane prep in New Jersey: the three numbers to know
Shore counties commonly carry percentage hurricane deductibles and separate flood policies. Everything below is how filed forms generally read in coastal markets — the deductible, endorsement, and exclusions printed in your own policy are the ones that govern, and Poli quotes those.
What to check before a storm has a name
Know your named-storm deductible in dollars
A percentage deductible is not the number printed beside all other perils.
Confirm whether you carry flood at all
Homeowners forms generally exclude surge and rising water, and new flood policies have a waiting period.
Put policy numbers and claim lines somewhere offline
A screenshot on the phone beats a website you cannot reach without power.
Start a receipt folder before you evacuate
Loss of use is reimbursed against what you actually spent.
Locate the water, gas, and breaker shutoffs
Cutting water fast is the difference between a wet floor and a gutted first floor.
How storm clauses usually read
A hurricane deductible is usually a percentage, not a flat amount
Coastal homeowners policies commonly carry a separate hurricane or named-storm deductible written as 1%, 2%, or 5% of the dwelling limit. On a $400,000 dwelling, 2% is $8,000 out of pocket before anything is paid — many times the ordinary all-other-perils deductible printed beside it.
Ask Poli: “What is my hurricane or named-storm deductible in dollars, and when does it apply instead of the regular one?”
Wind and water are two different policies
Homeowners forms generally cover wind-driven damage and exclude flood, including storm surge and rising water. Flood coverage normally lives in a separate NFIP or private flood policy, and new flood policies usually have a waiting period, so it cannot be added once a storm is named.
Ask Poli: “Does this policy exclude flood or storm surge, and where does it say so?”
Some coastal policies exclude windstorm entirely
In parts of Texas, Florida, and the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, wind is written out of the homeowners policy and carried on a separate windstorm policy from a state pool or a specialty carrier. Two policies, two deductibles, two claim numbers.
Ask Poli: “Is windstorm or hail excluded from this policy, and is there an endorsement adding it back?”
Food spoilage after a power loss is usually capped, and sometimes off-premises power doesn't count
Where refrigerated-property coverage exists it is typically a small sublimit, often $500, and some forms only respond when the power interruption happened on the premises rather than out at the utility.
Ask Poli: “Is there refrigerated food or spoilage coverage, what is the limit, and does an off-premises power failure trigger it?”
Evacuation costs and loss of use are not the same thing
Additional living expense generally responds when the home is unfit to live in from covered damage, and some forms add civil-authority-prohibits-use coverage for a limited number of weeks. A voluntary evacuation before a storm arrives often falls outside both.
Ask Poli: “If we evacuate and cannot return, what does loss of use or civil authority coverage pay, and for how long?”
A fallen tree is priced by what it landed on
Most forms pay to remove a tree only when it damaged a covered structure, often with a small removal cap such as $500 or $1,000. Fences and other detached structures usually draw on the separate other-structures limit, not the dwelling limit.
Ask Poli: “A tree came down on the house and the fence — what does the policy pay to remove it and rebuild?”
Roof payment can be replacement cost or depreciated value
Many coastal policies carry a roof surfacing schedule or an actual-cash-value roof endorsement that pays a depreciated amount on an older roof. The endorsement, not the headline coverage, decides that.
Ask Poli: “Is my roof paid at replacement cost or actual cash value, and is there a roof surfacing schedule?”
A ten-minute photo pass before the storm is free evidence
Walk each room, each elevation of the house, the roof line from the ground, and the serial plates on major appliances and equipment. Photographs dated before landfall settle the pre-existing-damage argument that decides a large share of disputed wind claims.
Ask Poli: “What does this policy require me to document or prove after a loss?”
Every policy has a clock on it
Duties-after-loss wording generally requires prompt notice, reasonable emergency repairs to prevent further damage, and keeping the damaged property available for inspection. Several states also set a deadline for filing a hurricane claim at all.
Ask Poli: “What are my duties after a loss and how long do I have to report a hurricane claim?”
Rebuilding to today's code can cost more than the policy limit
After widespread damage, current building code often requires straps, sheathing, or elevation the original house never had. Ordinance-or-law coverage is usually a percentage of the dwelling limit, and where it is missing that upgrade cost lands on the owner.
Ask Poli: “Do I have ordinance or law coverage, and what percentage of the dwelling limit is it?”