What Does a Wind Only Policy Cover?
It pays to repair or rebuild the house and sometimes its contents after damage from wind or hail, nothing else.
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A wind only policy usually exists because the regular homeowners policy sold in that area carved wind and hail out of its coverage, often along the coast where storms are frequent. Check the declarations page of the main policy first, since it should say wind and hail are excluded, which is why the separate policy was written. The wind only policy then carries its own deductible for wind and hail claims, often a percentage of the dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount, and that figure is on its declarations page too.
Two policies, two price tags worth checking
A wind only policy and the home policy that excludes wind are priced separately by different insurers. What one charges for the same coverage can differ a lot from another, and the gap is worth finding.
What's left for the regular policy to cover
A wind only policy exists alongside a regular homeowners policy, not instead of one. The main policy still covers fire, theft, liability, and water damage from a burst pipe, along with the other perils a standard policy handles. What it leaves out is wind and hail, which is why the separate policy was written in the first place. After a storm, figuring out which policy applies starts with figuring out what caused the damage, not just what the damage looks like.
Storms often cause more than wind and hail damage on their own. A tree comes down in high wind and cracks the roof. That's a wind claim. Rain then gets in through the crack and ruins a ceiling and the floor below it. Depending on how the policies are written, that water damage might fall to the wind only policy as a result of the wind event, or it might fall to the main policy's water damage coverage. Both insurers may need to be told, and both declarations pages are worth having out when the claim gets filed.
Flooding is its own category and neither policy touches it. If a hurricane pushes storm surge into the house, or rain causes water to rise from the ground up rather than coming in through wind-caused openings, that's flood damage. It takes a separate flood policy to cover it. A lot of hurricane damage is a mix of wind and flood, and insurers sort out which part falls where based on how the water got in and what broke first. Photos taken right after the storm, before any cleanup, help make that case.
Living where a wind only policy is common usually means living somewhere flood risk is also real, so it's worth checking whether a flood policy exists alongside the other two. Three separate policies covering one house sounds like a lot, but each one is narrow by design. A gap between them is exactly where a claim gets denied. The declarations pages for all of them, read together, show where one coverage ends and the next picks up, and that's worth knowing before a storm, not after one.
Filing a claim when more than one policy might apply
Once it's clear a storm caused damage, the next question is who gets called first. If the roof was torn open by wind, that claim goes to the wind only insurer. If a pipe froze and burst during the same cold snap that brought the storm, that's the main policy's problem. Mixed damage, like wind tearing a hole that let rain in, often means both insurers get a call, and each one will look at the same damage and decide which part is theirs.
Adjusters from each policy may come out separately, and they don't always agree on where the line falls. One might say the water damage is a consequence of the wind event and belongs to the wind only policy. The other might say the main policy's water damage coverage should pick it up instead. This is normal, not a sign something has gone wrong, but it means the homeowner is often the one holding both claims open until it's settled. Keeping notes on what each adjuster says, and when, makes it easier to follow up.
Photos matter more with storm damage than with most other claims, because the evidence disappears fast. Rain keeps coming in after the initial damage, mold starts, and a tarp or a contractor's early repairs can cover up exactly what an adjuster needs to see. Pictures taken the same day, from outside and inside, showing the hole, the water line, the broken tree limb still on the roof, give both insurers something to work from instead of a secondhand description. Keep receipts too, for any temporary repairs made to stop further damage, since both policies typically expect that and may reimburse for it.
Two deductibles can apply to a single storm if damage falls under both policies, and that's worth knowing before the first check arrives. The wind only policy's deductible, often a percentage of the dwelling coverage, applies to the wind and hail portion. The main policy's flat deductible applies to its own portion, like the water damage from the burst pipe. Add them up before assuming a number from one declarations page is the whole picture, since a storm that triggers both claims means paying both deductibles before either insurer pays out.
Before the next storm season
Pull the declarations pages for every policy on the house, wind only, main, and flood if there is one. Check where each coverage ends and the next begins before a storm makes that question urgent.
