Roof Claim Answers

Does FEMA cover your insurance deductible?

Short answer. Not directly. After a federally declared disaster with individual assistance approved for your county, FEMA may help with home repair costs your insurance did not cover, and because it compares its verified loss to your net insurance payout after the deductible, that help can end up covering some or all of the deductible.

When FEMA is even an option

FEMA's Individuals and Households Program only opens when a disaster declaration includes individual assistance for your county. Most hail and wind storms that damage roofs in Georgia never reach that level. Check DisasterAssistance.gov or FEMA's declarations page for your county and the storm date.

How the gap calculation works

FEMA cannot pay for anything insurance already paid for. Instead, it compares the repair need its inspector verifies with your net insurance payout, meaning what your insurer paid after your deductible. If insurance paid less, FEMA may help with the difference, up to the program's maximum. Under rules that took effect in 2024, that calculation can effectively cover part or all of your deductible. Program rules and caps change, so confirm the current terms for your disaster.

What FEMA needs from you

  1. File your insurance claim first. FEMA will ask for the settlement or denial letter.
  2. Register with FEMA before the application deadline for that disaster.
  3. Keep the insurer's estimate, your contractor's estimate and receipts.
  4. Report all insurance coverage honestly; duplicate benefits must be repaid.

Other help

SBA disaster loans can cover uninsured losses, including deductibles, for homeowners in declared areas. Some uncovered losses may also be deductible on taxes as a casualty loss.

Get the claim moving first: how to file a roof insurance claim and pinning down the date of loss.

In depth

What does my insurance policy require me to do to protect my roof after storm damage?Your duty to mitigate after roof storm damage: reasonable emergency repairs, tarping basics, receipts and photWhat counts as wind damage on a shingle roof, and how do I document it for a claim?How wind damages shingles: creases, broken seals, lifted and missing tabs, ridge caps, what wind speeds in repHow do I choose the date of loss for a roof claim, and what if two storms hit close together?How to pick and verify the date of loss for a roof claim with weather records, what to do when two storms hit

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