Hurricane Damage
Wind and rain from a hurricane are typically covered, often under a separate hurricane deductible. Storm surge flooding is not.
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What settles your claim is how the damage happened, not just that a hurricane caused it. Wind tearing off shingles or a tree falling through your roof falls under your dwelling coverage. That separate hurricane deductible applies, usually a percentage of your home's insured value rather than a flat dollar amount. Water that rises from storm surge falls outside your homeowners policy entirely and needs a flood policy, even when the same storm caused both. Your declarations page shows which deductible applies and what triggers it.
Your hurricane deductible is a number worth knowing now
A percentage deductible can run into thousands depending on your home's insured value, and it varies by insurer. Comparing policies before the next storm means knowing that number ahead of time, not after.
What to do in the days right after the storm
Call your insurer before you touch anything you don't have to touch. Most policies require prompt notice, and the date you reported the damage can matter if there's ever a dispute about timing. If the roof is open to the sky or a window is blown out, a reasonable temporary fix, a tarp, boarded-up glass, is expected of you. Your policy usually covers that cost as part of the claim, so keep the receipt.
Photograph everything before you move or discard anything, including the parts you're tarping over. Wide shots of each room and the exterior, then closer shots of the damage itself. If a tree is through your roof, photograph it from the yard and from inside the house before any tree service touches it. An adjuster who sees the damage only after cleanup has less to work with, and so do you if the claim is questioned later.
An adjuster will come out to inspect, usually within a few days to two weeks depending on how many claims the insurer is handling at once. A hurricane that hits a whole region generates thousands of claims at the same time, so expect the timeline to run longer than it would for a single house fire or a lone fallen branch. Some insurers send a single adjuster, others use a team working through a neighborhood. Either way, walk the property with them if you can, and point out damage that might not be obvious from the street, like a cracked foundation or water intrusion in the attic.
Keep a written log of every call, every name, every date. If the claim involves both wind damage and water that may have come from storm surge, the insurer may need to determine which policy, home or flood, covers which part of the loss, and that can slow things down. Ask directly whether a public adjuster, someone you hire independently to assess the damage, makes sense for a claim this size. For a few missing shingles it rarely does. For a roof torn off or a house with structural damage, a second set of eyes working for you rather than the insurer is worth asking about.
What if the adjuster's estimate feels too low
An adjuster's estimate is a starting point, not a final word. If it doesn't match what a contractor quotes to actually do the repair, you can push back. Send photos, your own contractor's estimate, and a written explanation of what the adjuster's figure missed. This happens often enough after a hurricane that insurers have a process for it, usually called a reinspection or a supplemental claim.
Depreciation is where a lot of the gap comes from. Your policy pays either replacement cost, what it takes to rebuild with new materials, or actual cash value, replacement cost minus depreciation for the age and wear of what was damaged. A ten-year-old roof is worth less than a new one in the insurer's math, even though you need a full new roof either way. Check your declarations page for which one your policy pays, because it changes what a fair settlement looks like.
If the gap doesn't close after a reinspection, every state has a department of insurance that handles complaints and can step in when a claim seems to be handled unfairly. Filing a complaint there costs nothing and puts a second party on record looking at your file. Some states also run mediation programs specifically for storm claims, built for exactly this kind of disagreement after a hurricane generates thousands of claims at once.
Large or structural damage, a roof replacement, a house with water intrusion into the walls, a claim running into tens of thousands of dollars, is where hiring a public adjuster tends to pay for itself. They work for you, not the insurer, and they're paid a percentage of the settlement, so there's no upfront cost if the claim doesn't improve. For smaller claims, the math usually doesn't favor it. Either way, keep every estimate, every photo, and every piece of correspondence. If the claim ends up in dispute, that record is what settles it.
Before the next storm
Find your hurricane deductible on your declarations page and check whether it's a percentage or a flat amount. Knowing that number now, not after a claim, is what makes comparing policies worthwhile.
