Homeowners Insurance & Natural Disasters

-
mopowers

mopowers

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2006
Messages
8,565
Reaction score
4,775
Location
West Sacramento, CA
All of the natural disasters across the country lately have me curious. Does homeowners insurance cover losses and/or damage from hurricane damage? What about Tornadoes? Or would that require a special supplemental policy?

I know in CA, some regions actually require supplemental fire insurance, flood insurance, etc. Is that how it is in other states that have a high likelyhood of experiencing hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.? Or is that already built into the homeowners policy? Or is it just not covered at all??
 
Probably depends on location. Places like Fort Myers you probably are required to carry hurricane/flood insurance.
 
Hurracane is covered, so are,Tornadoes. The policy is based on the location of the insured property.
Hurracane (Named Storm carries a additional seprate deducted over an above the normal deductable.
Versus just the deductible if a non named storm.
Home owner's insurance covers wind and driven rain from a storm not rising water. (Flood)
Bug fights in court after Katrina as to.
1) Did the wind damage before water came up.
2) wind tore roof off and damaged walls, wall cabinets, but flood damaged the bottom half of walls and bottom cabinets etc
So some got paid from homeowner's but had no flood insurance to cover bottom half( walls, cabinets, floors, furniture etc.
Or neither paid because they blamed it on the other. So no one wanted to pay. Sue us we have big pockets and lawyers.
think chicken or egg. Did water kill it or wind since both were present

I know of some very interestiing cases and those that were key witness agaist AllState-State Farm and others.
Flood will cover you 3 times then can refuse to insure unless steps,are taken to mitigate.

Also cost can be lowered on homeowners policies by mitigating. Class 4 roof, Dade County Rated Storm Shutters, etc.
I am not in insurance but stayed at Holliday Inn.
Houses can be "Elevated" so as to mitigate flood waters.
 
Last edited:
Do not assume. Read the home owner's insurance policy.
They all are diff, and limit liability. You have 1 million in guns and ammo? Ya wife have a solid gold chain she wears that could pull yiur new Demon game behind your truck and has the a ring that makes the Hope diamond look small?
Your policy my just cap the liability at 5K unless you add more coverage.
I know you o my asked about Homeowner's it can have coverage that covers total replacement cost or depreciated. Read what yours,says. Flood does not. The flood will deprecate
 
Last edited:
When my house was totally destroyed by F-5 tornado in 1998 the insurance showed up next day and gave me $5,000 to get clothes and necessities and I made the comment that I wasn't going to build the house back like it was because I didn't need that much house after my wife was killed 5 years earlier. The insurance man said whatever I built back would be what they paid for. I said noway I didn't have insurance on what I was gonna have but insurance was on what I had worked and paid for. I wasn't in the best of moods right then and it about got nasty. I said in other woods if I decided to live in a tent the rest of my life you would give me $200 to buy me a tent. I told them they were going to pay one way or the other and if I had to I would buy a lot in a nice neighborhood in town and let them build it back and I would sell it and come out here an do what the hell I wanted too. We finally got on the same page and things worked out ok., Joe
 
red67gts said:
When my house was totally destroyed by F-5 tornado in 1998 the insurance showed up next day and gave me $5,000 to get clothes and necessities and I made the comment that I wasn't going to build the house back like it was because I didn't need that much house after my wife was killed 5 years earlier. The insurance man said whatever I built back would be what they paid for. I said noway I didn't have insurance on what I was gonna have but insurance was on what I had worked and paid for. I wasn't in the best of moods right then and it about got nasty. I said in other woods if I decided to live in a tent the rest of my life you would give me $200 to buy me a tent. I told them they were going to pay one way or the other and if I had to I would buy a lot in a nice neighborhood in town and let them build it back and I would sell it and come out here an do what the hell I wanted too. We finally got on the same page and things worked out ok., Joe
Click to expand...
My policy states no depreciation but the insurance held back the depreciation amount would be until the work was completed. Had we not fixed the home and walked would have lost the holdback. We own the home free and clear. I am sure that the insurance who donates to the insurance commissioners' election who says that's fine is not biased.
Most of the person who was elected funds was donated by guess who? Insurance companies.......
Sorry I get on a roll with insurance.
Then you have the bright idea of insuring those who can not be insured. The state came up with the idea to do so themselves and go into the insurance biz. Guess what they did not have enough money to- pay claims! Suprized?
So they sold bonds and are paying them off by adding a surcharge to everyone's policy no matter who you buy from.
We are still having a surcharge added and it is 16 years later. And now the same thing again with the storm Ida {2021} not enough to pay. So want to add a surcharge to help Citizens Insurance. Plus add new policies for those that can no longer be insurable since they live way down on an island or way below BFE {Base Flood Elevation and outside the levee system! if you choose to live in some place like that you should be on your own. Who builds multi-million homes on an island out in the gulf or on the gulf and thinks it is ok. Fine build it but ya on ya own.
 
red67gts said:
When my house was totally destroyed by F-5 tornado in 1998 the insurance showed up next day and gave me $5,000 to get clothes and necessities and I made the comment that I wasn't going to build the house back like it was because I didn't need that much house after my wife was killed 5 years earlier. The insurance man said whatever I built back would be what they paid for. I said noway I didn't have insurance on what I was gonna have but insurance was on what I had worked and paid for. I wasn't in the best of moods right then and it about got nasty. I said in other woods if I decided to live in a tent the rest of my life you would give me $200 to buy me a tent. I told them they were going to pay one way or the other and if I had to I would buy a lot in a nice neighborhood in town and let them build it back and I would sell it and come out here an do what the hell I wanted too. We finally got on the same page and things worked out ok., Joe
Click to expand...
Was that coverage included in your policy, or did you have to buy a separate policy or additional insurance to cover the tornado damage?
 
No it was covered by my homeowners or Farmowers policy but it said replacement cost. The hardest part was having to list every item in the house down to a toothbrush. The form was when i bought it, where I bought it and life expectacy of every item before they would pay. Talk about a nightmare after working every daylight hour trying to cleanup! There is no way to honestly remember everything especially antiques my late wife had bought. My 67 GTS was in basement where my daughter and myself were completely covered up. The engine was out and I hadn't got insurance on it because it had not been on road since I had restored it. I didn't collect a dime on it, Joe
 
red67gts said:
The hardest part was having to list every item in the house down to a toothbrush.
Click to expand...

This is why you walk slowly around your house and video everything. Open every drawer in the kitchen, look in every cabinet, look in the closets, look in the garage (cover EVERY single tool down to the last screwdriver)! Go slow and video everything. Otherwise, they are only going to pay for what you list on the form. Make sure the video (in whatever format you choose) is stored somewhere SAFE! With a video like that, the insurance company will have no choice but to pay you for absolutely everything, no matter how small, up to your limit.
 
Texas. Commercial insurance co. does wind. FEMA does flood. A mortgage co. will require flood insurance if your home is in a flood plain.
All of Ameria helps pay the cost of insurance. We all help pay for the risk of living by water. Not everyone can afford to live by water if they wanted to. Subsidized.
Look at insurance co. on Wall St. today. There value will be rising, as they will raise rates ( profits) to cover losses. Just how it works.
Back when a F5 tornado destroyed much of Joplin, MO. my policy all of a sudden went way UP. I lived about 50 mi. from there. I had a national co. I called a local ins. co. 20 mi.from me and got their " usual" rates, as they had NO policies in Joplin. They been in business 80 years and thier rates were still yet cheaper.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top