Most home policies carry one flat deductible. In storm country there is usually a second one that takes over when a defined storm hits, and it is normally written as a percentage of your dwelling limit rather than a dollar figure. Which storms trigger it is the whole game: a hurricane deductible needs a storm the National Hurricane Center or National Weather Service has classified as a hurricane, often with a landfall or warning condition and a time window; a named-storm deductible also catches tropical storms; a wind/hail deductible applies to any wind or hail event, name or not. States write the rules differently, Florida and Louisiana make it a once-per-calendar-year deductible, and Florida and New York require the dollar amount on your declarations page. Flood is a different policy entirely.
A percentage of the dwelling limit, not of the loss
A flat deductible is a dollar figure you absorb on any claim. A storm deductible is usually a percentage instead, applied to the Coverage A dwelling limit, not to the size of the loss. North Carolina’s Department of Insurance gives the standard example: a 2% named-storm deductible on a home insured for $300,000 is $6,000.
The NAIC puts the range at 1% to as high as 15% of the insured value. When the trigger is met, the storm deductible applies in place of the flat one; New York’s regulation says that where more than one deductible could apply to a loss, the insurer applies only one, which may be the higher. Because it tracks the dwelling limit, the dollar amount rises when the limit does.
Hurricane, named storm, wind/hail: the trigger decides
- Hurricane deductible. Applies only to a storm the National Hurricane Center or National Weather Service has classified as a hurricane. Florida’s runs from the moment a hurricane warning is issued for any part of the state until 72 hours after the last hurricane watch or warning ends. New York’s regulation triggers it only when the hurricane makes landfall in the state, for wind damage from 12 hours before landfall until 12 hours after the last watch or warning is cancelled. New Jersey’s uniform policy language needs an NWS-named hurricane with sustained winds of 74 mph or greater measured in New Jersey, so none applied to Irene in 2011. Maryland lets a mandatory percentage hurricane deductible apply only from an NHC hurricane warning for any part of the state until 24 hours after the last warning ends.
- Named-storm deductible. The NAIC says it reaches tropical storms and other named cyclones, not just hurricanes. North Carolina’s starts when an advisory, watch or warning for a named storm is issued for any part of the state, ends 24 hours after the last one, and expressly includes tropical depressions and tropical storms. South Carolina’s regulation counts only a hurricane, tropical storm or tropical depression named by the NWS or NHC, so a winter storm named by the news media cannot trigger it.
- Windstorm or wind/hail deductible. It applies to any wind or hail event, name or not, and where there is no separate hurricane deductible it is the one applied to hurricane wind too. On the Texas coast the standard home policy may not cover wind and hail at all; the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association sells that coverage there.
What states regulate
The NAIC counted nineteen states plus the District of Columbia with some form of hurricane or named-storm deductible in place as of June 2025. What each regulates differs:
- Florida requires insurers to offer hurricane deductibles of $500, 2%, 5% and 10% of the dwelling limit (with exceptions for higher-value homes), to print on the policy face in bold type no smaller than 18 points that it contains a separate hurricane deductible, and to show the actual dollar amount on the declarations page.
- Maryland bars an insurer from requiring a hurricane deductible above 5% of the Coverage A limit unless it files that underwriting standard with the Commissioner at least 60 days ahead, and requires an annual statement explaining how the deductible is applied.
- New York allows a hurricane deductible only where the insurer shows enough hurricane exposure; it may vary by county or proximity to the coastline, all covered losses from the storm are aggregated against it, and it cannot be applied to loss-of-use coverage.
- South Carolina requires a statement on the policy face and declarations page that there is a separate hurricane, named-storm or wind/hail deductible, an example of how it works on a $100,000 policy with a clear explanation of the trigger, and the insured’s signature or initials when such a deductible is added or increased at renewal.
Once per calendar year in Florida and Louisiana
Florida’s statute applies the hurricane deductible on an annual basis to all covered hurricane losses in a calendar year under policies from the same insurer or insurer group. After a first storm uses part of it, the deductible for the next hurricane that year is the greater of what remains or the all-other-perils deductible, and the insurer may require you to report smaller losses or keep receipts so they count. The Florida CFO’s example: a $200,000 home with a 2% ($4,000) deductible, a first hurricane doing $2,000 of damage, then a second doing $5,000, where the remaining $2,000 applies and the insurer pays $3,000. Louisiana’s R.S. 22:1337 does the same for homeowners policies on one- or two-family owner-occupied homes: the named-storm or hurricane deductible applies annually by calendar year, with the same remaining-balance math and record-keeping.
Your dec page, flood, FORTIFIED, and what underwriters ask
The declarations page is where to look. Florida and New York require the hurricane deductible to appear there as a dollar amount, not a percentage alone, and North Carolina’s Department of Insurance says the percentage deductible is shown there too.
Flood is not covered by a standard homeowners policy, so one hurricane can mean a wind claim on one policy and a flood claim on another. Mitigation credits run the other way: a FORTIFIED Roof or verified wind-mitigation features can change how a carrier rates the wind peril, but the credit lives in the rate, not the deductible. Underwriters ask for the current FORTIFIED designation certificate with its ID number, roof age and material, year built, distance to the coast, opening protection, and whether flood is in force. Homeowners insurance and high-value homes by state.
Common questions
Is the percentage based on the loss or on my dwelling limit?
On the dwelling limit (Coverage A). A 2% named-storm deductible on a $300,000 dwelling limit is $6,000 whether the storm does $8,000 of damage or $80,000, and if the damage comes in under $6,000 you pay all of it.
Does a hurricane deductible apply to a tropical storm?
A true hurricane deductible does not; it needs a storm the National Hurricane Center or National Weather Service classified as a hurricane, and in some states a landfall or measured-wind condition on top of that. A named-storm deductible does reach tropical storms and depressions, which is why the label on your endorsement matters.
If two hurricanes hit in one year, do I pay the deductible twice?
In Florida and Louisiana, no: the deductible applies once per calendar year, and the second storm gets the greater of what remains or your all-other-perils deductible; Florida ties that to policies from the same insurer or insurer group. Elsewhere, read the endorsement; unless it says otherwise, expect each storm to carry its own deductible.
Does the hurricane deductible apply to flooding?
No, because a standard homeowners policy does not cover flood at all. Rising water falls under a separate flood policy with its own deductible; the storm deductible applies to the wind claim on the homeowners policy.
Can I pick a lower storm deductible?
Sometimes. Florida requires insurers to offer a menu of hurricane deductible choices, and Maryland lets an insurer offer the percentage deductible as an option rather than a requirement. Near the coast a carrier may set a minimum by county or distance to shore, which New York’s regulation expressly allows, and that minimum is an underwriting rule, not a negotiation.
Sources
- Florida Statutes s. 627.701 (Florida Senate): hurricane deductible options, policy-face warning, declarations-page display and calendar-year application
- Florida Department of Financial Services: Florida’s hurricane deductible (trigger window, calendar-year example, dec page, flood)
- NAIC insurance topic: hurricane deductibles (definitions of hurricane, named-storm and windstorm deductibles; percentage range; state count)
- New York DFS: Third Amendment to 11 NYCRR 74 (Insurance Regulation 159), hurricane deductible requirements and disclosure
- Maryland Insurance Article § 19-209: percentage deductibles in the case of a hurricane or other storm
- New Jersey DOBI Bulletin 11-16: applicability of N.J.A.C. 11:2-42.7 hurricane deductible language (Hurricane Irene)
- North Carolina Department of Insurance: windstorm and hail / named storm deductibles
- Louisiana R.S. 22:1337: annual application of named-storm or hurricane deductibles
- South Carolina Regulation 69-56 as amended (Document No. 4878, final 2020): hurricane, named storm or wind/hail deductible
General information about hurricane, named-storm and wind/hail deductibles on residential property policies as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice; your policy language, declarations page and your state’s insurance statutes and regulations control. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.