What your storm deductible actually comes to in dollars, and whether raising your regular deductible is worth the exposure. Estimates only — not a quote.
A typical 2% catastrophe deductible on $300,000 of coverage means you pay the first $6,000 of storm damage yourself — 6x the $1,000 deductible that applies to everything else. That is $5,000 more you would need on hand after a named storm than after a kitchen fire.
Shown on Alabama’s reference coverage level of $300,000. Enter your own coverage above for your number.
Alabama is one of the 19 states (plus D.C.) the Insurance Information Institute lists as having hurricane or windstorm deductibles. Unlike Florida, Alabama does not set the menu by statute - the percentages are carrier practice, not a legislated list - so what a homeowner actually carries depends heavily on where in the state the house sits. Named-storm deductibles of 2% to 5% of the dwelling limit are the working range statewide, triggered when the National Hurricane Center formally names a tropical storm or hurricane that causes the damage. In Mobile and Baldwin counties the picture is harsher: 5% to 10% named-storm deductibles are common, and many standard carriers exclude windstorm from the homeowners policy entirely, pushing wind coverage onto a separate AIUA Beach Pool policy (see residualMarket). 2% is recorded here as the typical statewide figure because it is the low end of the common range and the one that applies to the large majority of Alabama homes, which are inland. On a $300,000 dwelling limit that is $6,000 out of pocket before the insurer pays - versus the $1,000 all-perils deductible on the same declarations page. Alabama also offsets this: under Ala. Code 27-31D-2 insurers must give premium discounts for IBHS FORTIFIED construction, roughly 35% to 60% off the hurricane portion of premium and 20% to 35% off the other-wind portion.
This needs your two real quoted premiums. We deliberately don’t apply a “typical savings” percentage: deductible credits vary by carrier, state, and filing, so a made-up multiplier would give you a break-even that looks precise and isn’t. Ask your insurer to quote both deductibles — it takes one phone call, and the answer is specific to you.
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