Does Home Insurance Cover Storm Damage? (2026)

The short answer

Wind, hail, lightning, and falling trees are covered perils on standard homeowners policies. Rain that enters through a wind-created opening is covered. Water that rose from the ground is flood and is excluded. Named-storm and wind deductibles can make the out-of-pocket cost far higher than your standard deductible.

Percentage deductibles

In coastal and hail-prone states, wind or named-storm deductibles are expressed as a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat sum.

• A 2% named-storm deductible on a $400,000 dwelling limit is $8,000, not your usual $1,000.
• Some states trigger it only for named hurricanes; others apply it to any windstorm.
• The trigger definition is in the declarations page, not the booklet.
• Check whether the deductible applies per event or per season.

Documenting the claim

Photograph damage before any temporary repairs, keep receipts for tarps and board-up, and record the storm date so NOAA wind and hail data can be matched to your address. Insurers routinely check whether recorded wind speeds met their threshold.

Know your deductible before the season

Upload your policy to PolicyPal and we tell you your standard, wind, and named-storm deductibles in dollars, and whether the water damage you are describing would be treated as flood.

Frequently asked

Is hurricane damage covered?

Wind damage is, subject to a hurricane deductible. Storm surge is flood and needs a flood policy.

Does the policy pay for food spoilage after an outage?

Many policies include $500 or so for refrigerated food spoilage after a covered power interruption, though outages caused off-premises are sometimes excluded.

What if only some shingles are damaged?

Insurers pay to repair rather than replace where a match is available. Matching disputes are common and some states require reasonable uniformity.