Take photos of every room and all four sides of the house
Photos taken before the storm are the cheapest proof you will ever have.
Prepare · New York
Hurricane prep in New York: the three numbers to know
Downstate policies often carry a hurricane deductible triggered by wind speed thresholds. 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
Find out what your hurricane deductible is in dollars
If it's a percentage of your home's value, it's a much bigger number than the flat one beside it.
Check whether you have flood coverage at all
Homeowners policies usually leave out flooding, and a new flood policy takes about a month to start.
Save your policy number and your carrier's claim phone number on your phone
Take a screenshot so you still have them if the power and signal go out.
Start keeping receipts before you leave
If your policy helps with staying somewhere else, it pays you back for what you actually spent.
Find the water, gas and breaker shutoffs
Turning the water off fast is the difference between a wet floor and a ruined first floor.
How storm clauses usually read
Your hurricane deductible is often a percentage of your home's value
Near the coast, most policies charge a separate deductible for hurricanes — often 1%, 2% or 5% of the amount your house is insured for. On a $400,000 house, 2% means paying $8,000 yourself before the policy pays anything. That can be many times the flat deductible printed right beside it.
Ask Poli: “What is my hurricane deductible in dollars, and when does it apply instead of my regular one?”
Wind and water are two different policies
Homeowners insurance usually pays for wind damage but not for flooding — and that includes water pushed in from the ocean or rising up from the ground. Flood coverage is a separate policy, and a new one normally takes about a month to start, so it can't be added once a storm has a name.
Ask Poli: “Does this policy cover flooding or storm surge, and where does it say so?”
Some coastal policies don't cover wind at all
In parts of Texas, Florida and along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, wind is left out of the homeowners policy and bought separately from a state plan or a specialty company. That means two policies, two deductibles and two numbers to call.
Ask Poli: “Does this policy cover wind and hail, or is that on a separate policy?”
Spoiled food is usually covered only up to a small amount
If your policy helps with food that spoils when the power goes out, the limit is normally small — often around $500. And some policies only help when the power failed at your house, not when the outage happened out on the utility lines.
Ask Poli: “Does my policy pay for spoiled food after a power outage, and how much?”
Leaving before the storm and being unable to come home are two different things
Most policies help with the extra cost of living elsewhere once storm damage makes the house unlivable, and some also help when officials won't let you return home for a while. Leaving on your own before the storm arrives often isn't covered by either.
Ask Poli: “If we evacuate and can't come home, what does my policy pay toward staying somewhere else, and for how long?”
What a fallen tree costs you depends on what it landed on
Most policies only pay to haul a tree away if it damaged something they cover, and the amount for removal is often capped at $500 or $1,000. Fences, sheds and detached garages usually come out of a separate, smaller pot of money than the house itself.
Ask Poli: “A tree came down on the house and the fence — what does my policy pay to remove it and rebuild?”
Some policies pay for a new roof, others pay what your old one was worth
Plenty of coastal policies subtract for the age of your roof, so a fifteen-year-old roof is paid at what it was worth today rather than what a new one costs. That's usually decided on one of the extra pages attached to your policy, not in the main booklet.
Ask Poli: “Does my policy pay the full cost of a new roof, or subtract for its age?”
Ten minutes of photos before the storm is free proof
Walk through every room, then walk around all four sides of the house, and photograph the roof from the ground plus the labels on your big appliances. Photos taken before the storm settle the argument about what was already damaged — which is what a lot of denied wind claims come down to.
Ask Poli: “What does my policy require me to document or prove after damage?”
Every policy has a clock on it
Policies generally ask you to report damage quickly, make the urgent repairs that stop things getting worse, and leave the damage where it is until someone has looked at it. Some states also set a hard deadline for reporting a hurricane claim at all.
Ask Poli: “What am I required to do after damage, and how long do I have to report a hurricane claim?”
Rebuilding to today's building rules can cost more than your policy pays
After a big storm, today's building rules often require straps, thicker sheathing or a higher foundation your house never had. Some policies set aside extra money for that, usually a share of what the house is insured for. Without it, those upgrades come out of your pocket.
Ask Poli: “Does my policy pay extra for rebuilding to current building codes, and how much?”