Why Coastal Homeowners Need Windstorm Insurance

Residents of coastal North Carolina know that their homes will face some unique and more pronounced weather damage risks as opposed to inland properties. After all, the flat landscape of the coastal plain coupled with nautical weather patterns (not to mention hurricane threats) often make homes in the area particularly vulnerable to being weather-beaten even under relatively calm conditions. 

Coastal residents might assume that their homeowners insurance will cover property damage caused by the weather. After all, most residential property insurance policies insure residents against unexpected damage, and weather falls into this category. The problem is that they might find that their assumptions were incorrect. As a result, they might need a special, separate benefit known as windstorm coverage. 

Home Insurance and Windstorm Coverage 

When home insurers issue policies, they want to gauge the risk that a policyholder has of filing a claim. Those that have a higher risk of filing damage claims often have to pay more for their policies. However, at times, the cost risk of covering a certain type of damage might simply prove too risky to the insurer. Therefore, they might exclude certain causes of damage from coverage altogether. 

In coastal North Carolina, there is a high risk of homes sustaining wind damage. Not only are there risks of hurricanes, but high winds can blow in this part of the state even on fair-weather days. Therefore, many standard home insurers simply can’t make such a cost risk investment, and they might exclude wind coverage from a standard policy. In some cases they exclude all wind damage, while in other cases damage will be excluded for named storms, or storms where windspeeds exceed a certain limit.  

Though this is not the case for every policy issued in this region, it is still very common. At this time, coastal homeowners might need to buy expanded windstorm insurance to adequately achieve the appropriate benefits. In some cases, you can get coverage as an endorsement to your standard home insurance. In others, however, you will have to buy a separate windstorm insurance plan. These options vary depending on the insurer you choose. 

While your windstorm insurance will work a lot like your standard home insurance, it is still separate coverage. Policy limits and deductibles will be unique, and it’s imperative that your work with your insurer to link these benefits as closely as possible to the value of your home.  

Additionally, you’ll want to ensure that your plan is as integrated as possible with your existing homeowners benefits. We’ll be sure that we can help you reach that objective.