A wind and hail deductible is the first money you owe to get repairs started after a storm damages your home. Without this payment, which could be $15,000 for a $750,000 home with a 2% deductible, your home insurance company won't pay a dime towards the work you need done.
Why did insurance companies switch to percentage deductibles?
After major hail and hurricane events in the early 2000s drove billions in roof claims, carriers moved from flat-rate deductibles (often set at $1,000 or $2,500) to percentage-based deductibles tied to your homeowners coverage. This change allowed insurers to continue writing policies in higher-risk states while maintaining a profit. The shift also left many American homeowners underinsured, sometimes without even realizing that the change had occurred.
Percentage Deductible Examples:
A 1% deductible on a $500K home is $5,000.
A 2% deductible on a $750K home is $15,000.
A 5% deductible on a $1M home is $50,000.
Why don't homeowners realize how exposed they are?
Agents quoting a homeowners policy for a new customer may not properly clarify the way a modern wind and hail deductible works, or they may leave it up to the client to read the policy themselves, trusting that they'll spot the wind/hail exclusion in the fine print.
Even if you are fully aware of the wind & hail language in your policy, it can be difficult to translate that percentage into a 'real' number. That may not happen until you are faced with damage to your home and a bill that you'll be responsible for paying before your insurance company contributes a single dollar toward the repairs.
Once the damage has occurred, it's too late to consider other options. A wind and hail deductible coverage policy like Sola's can only provide protection from these costs if it's in place before the storm hits.
How Sola can help.
Sola is a standalone wind and hail policy that pays you cash directly when your home is damaged by a qualifying weather event. You pick the coverage limit, anywhere from $2,000 to $25,000 per structure. Most members pick a number that exactly matches their homeowners wind and hail deductible.
When a storm hits and you file a claim with both your homeowners insurance carrier and Sola, your home insurer pays out the cost of the roof minus your wind and hail deductible. Sola pays you cash to cover that home deductible. The result for you: a new roof and no out-of-pocket costs, thanks to your forethought and the extra coverage.
“I've always carried a 1% deductible on wind/hail coverage and I had been with Allstate for several years. By switching to a 2% deductible and carrying a policy with Sola, I was able to reduce my premium by $700 and still be out of pocket only 1% with any future wind/hail damage claim. I wish I had found out about Sola much sooner than I did and I would have changed carriers much sooner.”Mark
Keep reading
More on how Sola fits into your wind & hail coverage.