The single most common surprise after a Florida or South Carolina storm: the hurricane deductible is a percentage of your home's insured value, not the flat dollar amount you pay for everything else.
Most homeowners know their “all other perils” (AOP) deductible, often a flat $1,000 or $2,500. Far fewer realize their hurricane (or named-storm) deductible is a separate, percentage-based number, and it is usually much larger.
How the math works
The hurricane deductible is a percentage of your dwelling’s insured value (Coverage A), not a percentage of the loss. Florida policies commonly offer 2%, 5%, or 10%.
- A home insured for $400,000 with a 2% hurricane deductible carries an $8,000 deductible on a named-storm loss.
- At 5%, that’s $20,000.
So a $15,000 roof loss on a home with a 5% deductible on a $400,000 dwelling returns nothing, the loss is below the deductible. The same loss under the flat $2,500 AOP deductible would pay $12,500. The peril that triggers it is what changes the number.
What to check
- Read your declarations page for the hurricane or named-storm deductible line; it is listed separately from the AOP deductible.
- In Florida, the hurricane deductible typically applies once per calendar year, not per storm, so a second hurricane in the same season may not reset it (confirm your policy’s language).
- A carrier that closes a claim as “below deductible” on a first-visit estimate is not the last word, decking, interior, and code-upgrade scope missed on the first pass can push a real loss above the deductible.
Percentage deductibles apply to hurricane and named-storm losses; a flat dollar amount is the all-other-perils deductible. Policies differ and change; confirm your exact deductible and its trigger with your declarations page and, on a disputed loss, with a licensed professional. Our deductible calculator does the math on your numbers.
General information, not legal advice, laws and policies vary and change. Confirm current statutes and your own dates with a licensed attorney before acting.