CLAIMS GLOSSARY · FLORIDA & NEW JERSEY

Hurricane Deductible

Also called: named storm deductible, windstorm deductible, percentage deductible, hurricane duration deductible

By Nelson Avila, Licensed Florida Public Adjuster (License G332385) · Florida Certified Contractor
Homeland Public Adjusters · Last reviewed: October 2026

Definition

A hurricane deductible is a separate, usually percentage-based deductible that replaces your regular deductible when a loss is caused by a named hurricane. In Florida it is a percentage of the dwelling limit (2%, 5% or 10%, or a $500 option) and applies once per calendar year; in New Jersey it can apply only when a National Weather Service-named hurricane produces sustained winds of 74 mph or more measured in the state.

Hurricane deductible calculator

Coverage A is the dwelling limit on your declarations page.

Coverage A (dwelling limit) Hurricane deductible Estimated hurricane loss (optional) Hurricane deductible already absorbed this calendar year (Florida)

Your hurricane deductible in dollars—

Remaining this calendar year—

Insurer owes on this loss—

Illustration only, for a Florida personal residential policy under §627.701(5). Commercial and association policies usually apply the deductible per occurrence; New Jersey applies a hurricane deductible only when the DOBI 74-mph trigger is met.

Full guide: What Is a Hurricane Deductible? Florida and New Jersey

How a percentage deductible works

On a home insured for $450,000 with a 2% hurricane deductible, the deductible is $9,000. At 5% it is $22,500; at 10% it is $45,000. The percentage is applied to the Coverage A (dwelling) limit, not to the amount of the loss, so the dollar figure is fixed before the storm. Everything up to that number is yours; the policy pays above it. The calculator above shows the dollar deductible and what the carrier owes on any loss amount.

Florida

Under §627.701(3)(a), before issuing a personal lines residential policy, the insurer must offer hurricane deductibles of $500, 2%, 5% and 10% of the dwelling limit (with limited exceptions for very large or very small dwelling limits). §627.701(5)(a) provides that the hurricane deductible “shall apply on an annual basis to all covered hurricane losses that occur during the calendar year” under policies from the same insurer or insurer group. If a second hurricane hits in the same year, the insurer may apply the greater of the remaining hurricane deductible or the policy’s other-perils deductible; see calendar-year deductible. A “hurricane” for this purpose is defined in §627.4025: the windstorm during a hurricane declared by the National Hurricane Center, from the time a watch or warning is issued for any part of Florida until 72 hours after the last watch or warning ends.

Florida also now allows a separate roof deductible under §627.701(10), but it may not be applied to a roof loss caused by a hurricane.

New Jersey

New Jersey regulates when a hurricane deductible may be applied at all. Under N.J.A.C. 11:2-42.7 and the Department of Banking and Insurance’s uniform policy language, the deductible applies only to a hurricane named by the National Weather Service in which sustained hurricane-force winds of 74 miles per hour or greater have been measured in New Jersey, and it then replaces any other deductible. The Department applied that test after Hurricane Irene (Bulletin 11-16, 2011) and found the trigger was not met, so no hurricane deductible applied; the same result followed Superstorm Sandy, which made landfall as a post-tropical storm. A New Jersey carrier that applies a percentage deductible to a storm that did not meet the trigger is misapplying the policy.

How carriers use it against you

Applying the percentage deductible to an underscoped loss, so the net payment looks small or zero. The fix is the scope of damage, not the deductible.
Applying a hurricane deductible to wind damage from a storm that was not a hurricane in the policy’s sense (a tropical storm, a tornado, straight-line winds).
Applying the deductible to each claim or each building instead of once per calendar year (Florida personal lines).
Splitting one storm’s loss into wind and water claims and taking a deductible on each.

Worked example

Coverage A $600,000, 5% hurricane deductible = $30,000. Carrier’s estimate: $34,000 roof and interior, so the first check is $4,000. A public adjuster’s inspection adds the soffits, screens, pool cage, fence, wind-driven rain inside the walls and code upgrades: $92,000. Same deductible, payment $62,000. The deductible did not change; the scope did.

Frequently asked questions

Is a hurricane deductible per storm or per year?

In Florida, for personal residential policies, it applies on a calendar-year basis to all hurricane losses from the same insurer; a second storm in the same year gets the greater of the remaining hurricane deductible or the regular deductible (§627.701(5)). Commercial and condo association policies follow their own policy wording, often per occurrence.

Does the hurricane deductible apply to tropical storm damage?

In Florida only if the loss occurred during a hurricane as defined in §627.4025, which runs from the first hurricane watch or warning for Florida to 72 hours after the last. In New Jersey only if the storm was NWS-named and produced sustained winds of 74 mph or more measured in the state.

Can I choose a lower hurricane deductible?

Florida insurers must offer $500, 2%, 5% and 10% options on most personal residential policies. The lower the deductible, the higher the premium. Check the declarations page for the one you have.

Does the hurricane deductible apply to my contents and living expenses?

On most forms the single hurricane deductible applies once to the whole hurricane loss (dwelling, other structures and contents together); additional living expense is usually not reduced by the deductible. Read the deductible provision in your policy.

Related terms

Calendar-Year Deductible

A calendar-year deductible is a deductible that is satisfied once for all covered losses of that type in the same calendar year.

Read the definition ›

Date of Loss

The date of loss (DOL) is the date the damage occurred, which is the date the covered event happened, not the date you discovered it or reported it.

Read the definition ›

Roof Payment Schedule

A roof payment schedule (roof surfacing payment schedule) is a policy endorsement that pays a roof loss at a percentage of replacement cost set by the roof's age and material, instead of full…

Read the definition ›

Ordinance or Law Coverage

Ordinance or law coverage pays the increased cost of repairing or rebuilding damaged property to comply with current building codes, including demolition of undamaged portions that code requires you…

Read the definition ›

If this is your loss, call Homeland before you talk to the insurance company: Florida (305) 783-3777, New Jersey (732) 517-3777, 24 hours. A licensed public adjuster reviews the claim for free and calls you back right away. No Recovery, No Fee.

Sources

This article is for general information only and is not legal or insurance advice. Statutes, regulations and policy wording change, and how they apply depends on your own policy and the facts of your claim. Homeland Public Adjusters is a public adjusting firm, not a law firm.

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