Does home insurance cover both fire and storm damage?
Short answer. Yes. A standard homeowners policy covers fire, lightning, windstorm and hail, along with the smoke and water damage that come with them. The main differences are deductibles, since storm losses often carry a separate wind and hail deductible while fire uses the regular one, and roof endorsements that usually apply only to wind and hail, while flood needs its own policy either way.
How each is usually covered
- Fire: damage from flames, heat and smoke, plus water damage from firefighting. Covered unless intentionally set by an insured.
- Lightning: direct strikes and the fires they cause, and often power surges that damage electronics and HVAC controls.
- Windstorm and hail: roof, siding, windows, fences and trees that hit covered structures.
- Rain: covered when wind or hail first created an opening.
Where they differ
- Deductible: fire and lightning usually use the all other perils deductible, a flat amount. Wind and hail often carry a separate percentage deductible; see percentage deductibles.
- Roof endorsements: roof payment schedules and cosmetic exclusions usually apply only to wind and hail, so a fire-damaged roof may settle at full replacement cost on the same policy where a hail-damaged roof would not.
- Loss of use: fires more often make a home unlivable, so additional living expense coverage matters more.
What neither covers
- Flood and surface water, even during a storm.
- Earth movement, unless endorsed.
- Damage from long-term neglect.
After either kind of loss
Photograph everything, protect the home from further damage, keep receipts and get a full scope that includes hidden damage, such as heat-damaged decking after a fire or soaked insulation after a storm leak. Our roof payment schedule page explains why the cause of a roof loss can change the check.