When dealing with a hurricane or tropical storm, surviving the weather event is often only the beginning of the battle. The insurance company’s constant nit-picking of your claimed losses can drive you bonkers – especially while you are trying to put the rest of your life back together. Then, just when you think you may have worked out a reasonable resolution of your claim, the insurance representative says, “Oh, and by the way, we are going to apply a hurricane deductible to your loss amount.”
The Named Storm Deductible or Hurricane Deductible can take a huge bite out of your ultimate insurance claim recovery. Although some policies may vary, most homeowner insurance policies in Florida provide for a 10% deductible for hurricane or named storm claims. The real kicker though, is that this deductible is calculated as 10% of your POLICY amount, not of your claim amount. For example, let’s say you have a $500,000 policy of homeowner’s insurance, and then have the misfortune of incurring a $75,000 hurricane damage loss. After the application of the $50,000 deductible (10% of $500,000), the insurance company would only be obligated to pay you $25,000 for your loss. Good thing everybody always keeps a spare $50k around for just this type of emergency – right?
Dealing with the application of a hurricane deductible is another reason why you should never try to handle a catastrophic insurance loss without professional assistance. Whether you choose an insurance claim attorney or a public adjuster, either professional would handle the property insurance claim on a contingency fee basis and would only get paid if they bettered your recovery.