Do You Know What Your Homeowners Insurance Deductibles Are?

Do You Know What Your Homeowners Insurance Deductibles Are?

It’s happened to more policyholders than can be counted – a weather event, a leak, or a burglary occurs, and an insurance claim must be filed. Suddenly there’s a deductible to be paid, and many homeowners are surprised to find out their deductible may not be what they thought.

All homeowners insurance claims are not equal

Depending on your insurance carrier and the type of claim being filed, your deductible can vary. If you are filing a simple claim over the theft of some jewelry from your home, one type of deductible will apply. If you are filing for a newly discovered water leak that has done significant damage to your walls or floors, a different part of your policy with a different deductible may kick in. If a hurricane hits Florida, that’s yet another type of claim – and yet another level of deductible.

How much is your deductible?

If you are filing a simple claim, your deductible may be as low as $250 or $500 – especially if you carry additional coverage such as Spartan Enhanced Coverage which is designed to lower your risk. That amount can be fairly easy to come up with, and you can quickly replace stolen property or fix a small amount of damage to your home. However, if your neighborhood has suffered a hit from a hurricane, your deductible could instead be calculated by a percentage of your home’s total value.

Percentage based deductibles can be costly to the homeowner

For a hurricane event that caused damage to your home, you could be looking at a significant out of pocket cost to cover your deductible. Many carriers set hurricane deductibles based on 2% of the home’s insured value. A claim for a home with an insured value of $400,000 could result in an $8,000 liability for the homeowner. Hurricane Irma did over $7 billion worth of damage – resulting in massive out of pocket costs for Florida homeowners.

Olympus offers flat rate deductibles for hurricane damage

In exchange for a small premium increase, Olympus offers flat rate hurricane deductibles of $500 or $1,000 – significantly reducing your responsibility in case of a devastating weather event and allowing you to keep your hard-earned savings. That potentially crippling percentage-based deductible instead becomes a known, manageable amount that can be set aside in case the worst happens.

Lower deductibles for hurricane damage are just one more way Olympus stands out among Florida insurance carriers. If you live in a high-risk area for hurricanes (and in Florida, almost every part of the state is high risk), ask your agent about the Olympus difference today.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form a part of, replace, change or amend any terms, conditions, provisions or language within your Olympus Insurance policy. We encourage you to read your entire policy.