Does homeowners insurance cover hurricanes?
What a homeowners policy pays for
- Shingles, ridge caps and flashing torn off by wind.
- Trees and limbs blown onto the house, garage or fence.
- Rain damage inside when wind first opened the roof, a wall or a window.
- Damaged belongings from those openings.
- Extra living costs if the home cannot be lived in.
What it does not pay for
- Flood: rising water from rivers, creeks or heavy rainfall runoff.
- Storm surge: ocean water pushed ashore.
- Mudflow and earth movement.
Flood coverage comes from the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood policy. NFIP policies generally have a 30 day waiting period before coverage starts, so it has to be bought well before a storm is in the forecast.
Georgia is not just the coast
Coastal Georgia faces direct hurricane hits and surge. Inland, including metro Atlanta and North Georgia, tropical systems arrive weaker but can still bring damaging gusts, saturated soil that topples trees, and long power outages, as Hurricane Helene showed in 2024. For most inland homes, the big hurricane claims are trees on roofs and wind-torn shingles, both homeowners policy territory.
Deductibles to know before the season
Your policy may have a regular wind and hail deductible, a hurricane or named storm deductible, or both. Percentage deductibles are calculated on the dwelling limit, so a 2 percent deductible on a $350,000 home is $7,000. Read the declarations page now, while there is still time to change it at renewal.
More: wind damage roof claims and percentage deductibles.