Does All Perils Deductible Include Wind and Hail?
Often yes, but some policies set a separate wind or hail deductible instead. Your declarations page shows which applies.
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What your declarations page is telling you
If your policy lists one all perils deductible, that single dollar amount, often $500, $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000, applies to wind and hail damage the same way it applies to a fire or a burst pipe. But a lot of policies in storm-prone areas carve out wind and hail, or hurricane damage specifically, and set its own deductible instead. That separate deductible is often a percentage of your dwelling coverage, typically 1% to 5%, rather than a flat dollar figure. So if your dwelling coverage is $300,000 and your wind/hail deductible is 2%, you'd owe $6,000 before coverage kicks in, far more than a flat $1,000. Your declarations page names which setup you have and shows the number or percentage. If it only lists one deductible, that's the one that applies.
A percentage deductible can cost far more out of pocket than a flat one when the storm that hits is the kind that triggers it. On a $300,000 dwelling, 2% means $6,000 before coverage starts, against $1,000 on an all perils policy. Comparing how insurers in a storm-prone area structure that deductible, and what they charge for it, is worth doing before the next storm, not after.
How a percentage deductible actually gets calculated
A percentage deductible is based on your dwelling coverage limit, not on the amount of damage, your home's market value, or what you paid for the house. If your declarations page shows $350,000 in dwelling coverage and a 2% wind/hail deductible, that deductible is $7,000, period. It stays $7,000 whether the storm causes $9,000 in damage or $90,000. Raising your dwelling coverage to keep up with rebuilding costs also raises the dollar amount of that deductible, even though the percentage hasn't changed.
Some policies apply the percentage deductible per occurrence, meaning it resets with each separate storm. Others apply it per season or per year, which matters if your area gets hit more than once. A few states require insurers to spell out how many separate wind or hurricane deductibles can apply within a policy period. The declarations page or the deductible endorsement attached to your policy should say which rule applies to you. If it doesn't say, the insurer or agent can tell you.
The trigger for a separate wind, hail or hurricane deductible is also worth checking. Some policies apply it to any wind or hail event. Others only apply it once a hurricane is officially named, or once a state of emergency is declared, or once sustained winds reach a certain speed. A storm with high winds that never gets named a hurricane might fall under your regular all perils deductible instead of the higher percentage one. That distinction can mean thousands of dollars either way, and it's written into the policy language, not left to judgment after the fact.
When a claim adjuster inspects storm damage, they'll note which deductible applies before calculating what the insurer pays. If your policy has both an all perils deductible and a separate wind/hail deductible, only one applies to a given claim, not both. Keep a copy of the declarations page and any deductible endorsement somewhere easy to find, since the adjuster's math should match what those documents say. If the numbers don't match, that's worth raising before the claim is settled, not after.
What triggers the separate deductible, and what doesn't
Not every windy day qualifies. A lot of policies that carve out a wind or hail deductible tie it to a specific trigger, like a hurricane being named by the National Hurricane Center, a state of emergency being declared, or sustained winds hitting a certain speed within a certain distance of your home. A severe thunderstorm that knocks a branch through the roof might not meet that bar at all, even though it felt just as bad standing in it. In that case the damage falls under your regular all perils deductible instead, which is usually the lower, flat number.
Two homeowners on the same street can file claims from the same storm and end up with different deductibles applied. One house takes damage from straight-line thunderstorm winds. The other takes damage from what gets classified as a tropical system once it makes landfall. The policy language decides which bucket the claim falls into, not the weather report on the news. The deductible endorsement attached to the policy spells out the exact trigger, often in a few sentences near the bottom of the page, and it's worth reading before a storm rather than during the claim call.
Hail works a little differently. Most policies that separate out wind/hail don't require any special designation for hail. A storm either produced hail that damaged the roof or it didn't. But some insurers in hail-prone states have started applying cosmetic damage exclusions, meaning dents in siding or gutters that don't affect function might not be covered even though the higher wind/hail deductible would otherwise apply. That exclusion, if present, is written into the policy separately from the deductible itself.
Falling trees sit in their own category. If wind knocks a tree onto the house, the damage to the house itself is typically a wind claim, subject to whichever wind deductible applies. Removing the tree, if it didn't damage a covered structure, often falls under a separate and smaller debris removal limit that has nothing to do with the wind deductible at all. Checking both the deductible section and the debris removal section of the policy after a tree comes down avoids a surprise about what's actually reimbursed.
Before the next storm
Pull your declarations page and find the deductible section. Check whether wind, hail or hurricane has its own line, and what percentage or dollar amount applies. That number is what matters when the storm actually comes.
