How do you determine what was damaged by wind, and by water. Something with water damage, could have been conceivably damaged by the wind first.
That is why you saw buildings on fire...wink wink.
Unlikely. Water damage is very different from wind damage. When we lived on the bay on the Gulf Coast, we knew the risks we took. We got the flood insurance, and were glad to have it even though we never had to use it. People who try to cheap out shouldn't expect to have their bills paid by those of us who paid.
Is storm surge considered the same as a flood? whoever on this thread mentioned that the lawyers are gonna have a field day is spot on.
I think the big stickler will be NOLA. That was flood and anybody in the city that did not have flood insurance was stupid.
If the insurance companies knew the states were going to do this I wonder how many would have dropped those states.
How do you seperate the water from a hurricane from the wind of a hurricane?
It is windSTORM insurance not just wind insurance.
When does the water cease to be "storm" and start to be "flood only"?
I can actually understand the bifurcation in NO because the flood was levy related more than "STORM" related.
I remember asking my Father that question after his house was damaged by Hurricane Hugo. He told me that wind driven water comes from above the ground and flood comes from ground level. Still not sure what all that means. But his insurance company, USAA, said his water damage was from wind driven water and paid up. His next door neighbor's insurance company said that his water damage was from flood and didn't pay up. Of course, my Dad had flood insurance so he was covered either way, but it does show there is quite a lot of gray area in interpreting what caused the damage. I cannot help but thinking that a lot of insurance companies tell their adjustors to keep a close eye on the bottom line.
As a postscript, Allstate tried to bail out of the homeowners insurance market in Florida after Andrew but the state Insurance Department wouldn't let them abandon their policies.
From what I was told by someone that had their house flooded in a Florida hurricane, they look at the high water mark in your house. The water stains the wall.
It it's above the high water mark you won't have much trouble claiming it. It it's below the high water mark, you'll need to prove that the damage being covered wasn't caused by flood waters.
Usually doesn't matter. If a home is compeltely blown away by the wind, but the entire neighborhood is underwater and a total loss, they can legitimately deny any claim. The house WOULD have been lost due to a non-covered event.
It's trickier in more complicated situations.
Insurance companies have programs designed to determine what was damaged by wind vs. water. Usually it is pretty clear. If it is both, the homeowners policy will pay for the wind damage only and the flood coverage (if it exists) will pay for the water. It there is no way to separate the damage (wind vs. water), the ethical insurance companies (yes, there are some) will give the benefit of the doubt to the policyholder (as will the courts).