Understanding the Cost of Hurricane Insurance

If you live in an area that is vulnerable to hurricanes, it’s essential to safeguard your home from storm damage. This not only means physically storm-proofing your property, but also ensuring your insurance policies are active and effective.

Insurance coverage can be expensive, and insurance companies don’t always have your best interest at heart. Here’s what you should know about the cost of hurricane coverage – and why you may want to hire a hurricane insurance lawyer after the storm.

Is There Such a Thing as Hurricane Insurance?

In most cases, there isn’t a specific “hurricane insurance” that homeowners can purchase to protect against tropical storms, but don’t panic. Most homeowners insurance policies include coverage for wind damage. You should double-check that your policy includes this.

You should also purchase flood insurance, which provides the necessary protection against flood damage. The combination of these two coverages — for wind and flooding — essentially amounts to hurricane coverage, because that is how tropical storms inflict their damage.

Please note that in many states, you’re not allowed to open a new policy (for flood damage, for example) after a storm watch has been issued or 48 hours or less before a storm hits. So if you think your property is susceptible to hurricanes, you should expand your coverage sooner rather than later.

How Much Does Hurricane Insurance Cost?

It’s hard to gauge how much it might cost you to safeguard your property from hurricane damage. That’s because several factors are at play:

• Coverage Components: “Hurricane coverage” typically includes at least two separate insurance policies (homeowners/wind and flood).
• Location: Prices vary depending on the insurance company and the state. Some parts of the state are considered higher-risk than others.
• Property Value: The value of your home can also affect the cost of coverage.

You can see the average cost of home insurance in your area and by state on Insurance.com. For the average price of flood insurance, check QuoteWizard. It may surprise you to learn that some of the states hardest hit by storms — such as Florida, Maryland, and Texas — have the cheapest flood insurance policies. Florida’s is the lowest, at $550 per year.

What About Deductibles?

Deductibles can range from $500 to $2,500. The higher the deductible, the lower your rate will likely be, and vice versa. Certain states, such as Florida, also have special deductibles for hurricane damage, which must be met before losses apply to damages. Be sure to familiarize yourself with your policy, your provider’s rules, and any state laws pertaining to your coverage.

Experts advise that you purchase at least $300,000 in liability coverage for your home; otherwise, the coverage may be insufficient.

Why You Might Need a Hurricane Insurance Lawyer

Even if you purchase the right coverage and file a valid claim for storm damage, your insurance company may refuse to provide compensation. Generally speaking, their goal is to pay as little as possible no matter the situation. Some of their go-to tactics include:

• Delaying Processing or Fulfilling a Claim: Insurance companies might stall the process to discourage you.
• Undervaluing a Claim: They may offer only partial payment, not covering the full extent of your damages.
• Requesting a Written Release of Supplemental Claims: They might ask you to sign away your rights to future claims before paying you.
• Arguing Coverage: Insurers often claim that certain damages are not covered by your policy, even if they are.
• Convincing You to Accept Less: They may try to persuade you to accept less than you need and deserve.

When you run into these challenges, you need a law firm in your corner with the resources and reputation to take on the insurance company and win. With 1,000 attorneys, 4,000 support staff, and over 35 years of experience, Morgan & Morgan is one of the few who can take on almost any insurance dispute. We understand these policies inside and out, and we will fight for FULL compensation for our clients.

No one wants to deal with an insurance company on their own. Contact a hurricane claim lawyer who can handle them while you focus on recovering, repairing, and rebuilding.

Contact a Hurricane Insurance Lawyer

If the insurance company has denied, delayed, or undervalued your claim, contact Morgan & Morgan. We take pride in holding big companies accountable when they try to take advantage of hardworking Americans. Across all practice areas, we have recovered more than $20 billion for clients, fighting For The People, not the powerful.

To learn more, contact us for a free, no-risk case evaluation. It costs nothing to hire us, and we get paid only if you win.