Check Your Coverage While the Sun is Shining

by | Jul 3, 2025 | 2025, Family and Consumer Sciences, Housing, Money Management

Check the terms of your homeowners or renters policy to make sure you have adequate coverage.
Photo credit: Judy Corbus, NW Extension District

Do you know what your home insurance covers? How about levels of coverage or exclusions? If you’re not sure, now is a good time to take a look at your homeowner’s or renter’s policy. Hurricane season potentially increases the likelihood of filing a claim and it’s wise to know your level of coverage, perils included (or excluded), and deductibles before the need arises.

How Much Insurance Should I Buy?

To be adequately covered, your home must be insured for the amount necessary to rebuild it at the current cost factoring in building material prices and labor costs. Also, depending on the age of your home, it may need to be repaired or rebuilt to meet current building codes. Law and Ordinance coverage will cover these additional costs so discuss your policy with your insurance agent. If your home is underinsured at the time of loss, there may be a penalty or reduction in the amount the insurance company will pay for the loss. Discuss both the limits and adequacy of types of coverage with your agent.

What Perils are Covered by My Policy?

Damage from rising water (flood) is not covered by most homeowners’ policies. You may purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or through private insurers. Flood insurance is available to cover your home and personal property. Usually, there is a 30-day waiting period before a flood insurance policy goes into effect with the NFIP, unless you purchase the policy at the same time you purchase or refinance your home. You may obtain flood insurance through your local agent.

You also should check for windstorm coverage, sinkholes and catastrophic ground cover collapse, and mold coverage.

Replacement Cost or Actual Cash Value?

These two settlement options are available when purchasing home insurance. Replacement Cost is the amount needed to repair or replace damaged property with materials of similar kind and quality without deducting for depreciation, which is the decrease in the value of your home or personal property due to normal wear and tear. Actual cash value is the amount needed to repair or replace an item, less depreciation. To receive replacement cost coverage, most homeowners’ insurance policies require the policyholder to insure the home for at least 80% of its replacement value.

What About the Hurricane Deductible?

The Hurricane Deductible is the deductible applied to loss caused by a hurricane. The deductible is the dollar amount paid by the policyholder before an insurance company pays anything. Typically, the hurricane deductible is $500 or two, five, or ten percent of the amount of insurance covering the dwelling at the time of loss. In Florida, you pay one hurricane deductible per calendar year as long as you are insured by the same insurer for the second or subsequent hurricanes for the same calendar year. The hurricane deductible applies from the time a hurricane watch or warning is issued for any part of Florida until 72 hours after the last hurricane watch or warning is terminated for any part of Florida.

Take a few moments to review your policy while the sun is shining and the waters are calm so you are prepared for hurricane season.

For more information on homeowners’ insurance, check out Homeowners Insurance A Toolkit for Consumers and Florida’s Hurricane Deductible.

Sources:
Homeowners Insurance A Toolkit for Consumers
Florida’s Hurricane Deductible

Judy Corbus
Latest posts by Judy Corbus (see all)