A separate wind or hail deductible is the amount you carry yourself when wind or hail is the cause of a roof loss. It applies instead of the standard deductible, it is usually larger, and on most policies that carry one it is written as a percentage of the amount the dwelling is insured for rather than as a stated sum.
That makes it the deductible most likely to decide a roof claim. Wind and hail cause the majority of sudden roof damage, so the figure in the main deductible box is often not the figure that will apply when something happens to your roof.
Which deductible applies to which cause
| Cause of loss | Deductible normally applied | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Fire, impact, theft, water escape | The standard deductible | The stated sum on the declarations page |
| Wind or hail damage | The wind and hail deductible, where one exists | The cause recorded for the loss |
| A named or declared storm | The hurricane or named storm deductible | The naming of the event and the trigger window |
Only one deductible applies to a claim. Where a policy carries several, the question is which clause the cause of loss falls under, and the evidence of what happened settles it.
How the percentage works
A percentage deductible is calculated against the dwelling coverage amount, which is the sum the house itself is insured for. It is not a percentage of the roof, of the repair estimate or of the payment. Two consequences follow.
The first is that the figure grows. Dwelling coverage is usually adjusted upward at each renewal to track rebuilding costs, and the deductible rises with it without anybody writing to tell you.
The second is that the percentage looks small and the result does not. A modest percentage of a whole house produces a far larger sum than most owners expect, often more than the roof repair it is applied to. Working the number out while nothing has happened is the most useful thing an owner can do with this clause.
What triggers the larger figure
Read the trigger, because it varies. A wind and hail deductible typically applies to any loss caused by those two things. A hurricane or named storm deductible applies only when a storm has been named or declared, and the policy defines a window around that event, which can open before the weather arrives and stay open for a set period afterwards.
Some policies place ordinary windstorm damage back under the standard deductible and reserve the percentage for named events. Others apply the percentage to every gust that lifts a shingle. Both are common, and the wording is the only reliable guide.
Where to find it
Everything above is on the declarations page rather than in the policy booklet. Find four things and keep them with the policy.
- The standard deductible, as a dollar figure.
- The wind or hail deductible, as a percentage or a sum, and the causes it names.
- The hurricane or named storm deductible, if the policy carries one, with its trigger.
- The dwelling coverage amount, which is what any percentage is applied to.
Then ask your agent to confirm in writing what the percentage comes to in dollars today. Roof deductibles covers how any deductible is applied to a payment, and actual cash value against replacement cost covers the other reduction that lands on the first check.
What it means for a roof claim
A larger deductible does not change whether damage is covered. Coverage is decided by the cause of loss and the exclusions, and what homeowners insurance covers on a roof deals with that question. What the deductible changes is whether a covered loss is worth claiming.
That makes the inspection and the written scope more important, not less. If the repair is priced near the deductible, you need to know what the work actually involves before you file, because the figure that matters is the covered amount after the deduction. Does insurance cover wind damage to a roof sets out how the cause is judged, and it is the cause that decides which deductible is applied.
Before the next storm
Ask three questions at your next renewal: does this policy carry a separate wind or hail deductible, what does it come to in dollars at the current dwelling amount, and what would a lower one cost. The answers take one conversation and change how quickly you can decide after a storm.
This page explains policy terms in general. Your own policy decides what applies to your claim, and nothing here is insurance or legal advice.
Common questions
Why does my policy have a separate deductible for wind and hail?
Because those two causes produce most of the roof losses insurers pay, and a separate deductible shifts part of that exposure back to the owner. Carriers in storm exposed regions use it to keep writing policies there at all, and it is usually larger than the deductible for other perils.
- Wind and hail drive the bulk of roof claim payments
- A larger share carried by the owner lowers the premium
- It is most common where severe storms are frequent
- Some carriers apply it statewide, others by county or zone
- It appears on the declarations page, not in the main booklet
Knowing why it exists is less useful than knowing it applies to you. Many owners first discover the separate figure on the estimate after a storm, because the premium was quoted as one number and the deductible was read as one number too. Ask directly whether your policy carries a wind or hail deductible, what it is, and which causes trigger it. That question takes a minute at renewal and answers itself expensively after a loss.
How do I work out what a percentage wind deductible costs me?
Multiply the percentage by the dwelling coverage amount on your declarations page, not by the cost of the roof. That is the figure you would carry on a wind or hail loss, and it moves every time the dwelling amount is adjusted, which on most policies happens quietly at renewal.
- The base is the dwelling coverage amount, usually Coverage A
- It is not a percentage of the repair cost or the payment
- Rebuilding cost rises, so the dollar figure rises with it
- Work it out now and write it down with the policy
- Ask your agent to confirm the base the percentage applies to
Owners who remember a figure from a few renewals ago are nearly always remembering a smaller one, because the dwelling amount has been increased for inflation since. The arithmetic matters because it decides whether a roof loss is worth claiming at all. A deductible calculated against a well insured house can exceed the cost of a substantial repair, which turns the claim decision into a straightforward comparison rather than a judgment call.
Does a wind or hail deductible apply to every windstorm?
It applies whenever the cause of loss is one the clause names, which on most policies means any wind or hail damage rather than only severe events. A hurricane or named storm deductible is different: that one is triggered by a declared event, and the policy defines the trigger precisely.
- A wind and hail deductible usually applies to all such losses
- A named storm deductible needs a declared, named event
- The trigger period can start before landfall and run after it
- Only one deductible applies to any single claim
- The policy wording decides, not the local news coverage
Read the trigger language rather than assuming it. Some policies apply the larger deductible to damage from a named storm only while a watch or warning is in force for your area, and ordinary summer wind damage falls back to the standard figure. Others make no such distinction. Where both a wind and hail deductible and a hurricane deductible exist, you need to know which one the carrier will apply to which kind of weather before anything happens.
Can I remove a separate wind and hail deductible from my policy?
Sometimes, and it will cost more in premium. Some carriers offer a lower percentage or a flat figure for an additional charge, and several states require insurers to offer at least one buy down option. Where the exposure is heavy, carriers may not offer a choice at all.
- Ask your agent what options the carrier actually files
- A lower percentage or a flat amount are the usual alternatives
- Expect the premium to rise in exchange
- Some states require an option to be offered, not accepted
- A mortgage may cap the deductible the lender will allow
Price it as a trade rather than a preference. Ask for the premium at two or three deductible levels, then compare the annual difference against the extra sum you would carry in the year something happens. The answer depends on whether you could fund the larger figure at short notice, and on how often your area actually sees damaging storms. A lender condition can settle the question for you, so check the mortgage terms before shopping.
Is a hurricane deductible the same as a wind and hail deductible?
No. A hurricane or named storm deductible applies only to losses from an event the authorities have named or declared, within a defined trigger window. A wind and hail deductible applies to those causes generally. A policy can carry both, with the standard deductible left for everything else.
- Hurricane deductibles depend on a declared or named event
- Wind and hail deductibles depend only on the cause of damage
- A policy may carry one, the other, or all three figures
- Each is stated separately on the declarations page
- The highest applicable deductible is the one that applies
The distinction decides what you carry after an ordinary thunderstorm. A roof stripped by straight line winds in a summer storm is not a named storm loss, so a policy with only a hurricane deductible would apply the standard figure to it. The same roof damaged during a named storm would be settled against the larger one. Both scenarios are common, which is why the dated evidence of what happened and when matters as much as the policy language.