Most landlords discover how their wind and hail deductible works at the worst possible time: after a storm. Unlike the flat dollar deductible on the rest of your policy, wind and hail deductibles are usually a percentage of your coverage amount, and the difference can mean thousands of dollars out of pocket on a single claim.
With peak wind season running August through October, this is the right time to understand exactly what your policy says. Here is how these deductibles work for rental properties.
What is a wind and hail deductible?
Wind and hail deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket before insurance covers damage caused by windstorms or hail. On most landlord policies, it is calculated as a percentage of your dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount, typically between 1 and 5 percent.
This structure became standard after major hurricanes in the 1990s and 2000s produced losses that reshaped how insurers price wind risk. Percentage deductibles let carriers keep wind coverage available in higher-risk areas by sharing more of the smaller losses with policyholders.
How does a wind and hail deductible work?
The math is simple but the result surprises people. Your deductible is a percentage of your dwelling coverage, not of the damage.
Say your rental property is insured for $400,000 with a 2 percent wind and hail deductible. After a hailstorm damages the roof:
- Your deductible is 2% of $400,000, which is $8,000
- If the repair costs $20,000, insurance pays $12,000 and you pay $8,000
- If the repair costs $7,500, you pay the entire repair, because the loss is below your deductible
That last scenario is the one landlords miss. A percentage deductible on a well-insured property can mean smaller wind and hail claims fall entirely on you. That is not a flaw in the policy. It is a tradeoff that keeps premiums manageable, and it is why knowing your number before the storm matters.
What is a typical wind and hail deductible?
Most policies set wind and hail deductibles between 1 and 5 percent of dwelling coverage. Where yours lands depends on the property’s location, age, condition, and roof type.
In higher-risk states, carriers commonly require higher minimums. Obie’s carrier partners, for example, apply a minimum 2 percent wind and hail deductible (or your all-peril deductible, whichever is greater), with higher requirements in wind-exposed states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and several others.
Why is my wind and hail deductible so high?
If your deductible seems steep, it usually comes down to three factors:
Location. Properties in Tornado Alley, coastal counties, and hail-prone states like Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado carry higher wind risk, and deductibles price that in.
Your coverage amount. Because the deductible is a percentage of dwelling coverage, a higher-value property automatically means a higher dollar deductible. As replacement costs have risen in recent years, deductibles have risen with them, even when the percentage stayed the same.
Your roof. Older roofs and roof materials prone to hail damage push deductibles and premiums up. If your rental’s roof is nearing the end of its life, the deductible is one more input in the repair-or-replace math.
Do you have to pay the deductible for hail damage?
Yes. Hail damage claims work like any other covered wind and hail loss: the deductible applies before the carrier pays. If the damage costs less than the deductible, there is no payout, and filing the claim generally is not worth it.
One nuance worth knowing: some policies include cosmetic damage exclusions, meaning dents or marring on a roof or siding that do not affect function are not covered at all. Read your policy language, because a roof that looks hail-damaged but still performs may not produce a claim.
What does wind and hail coverage include for rental properties?
Wind and hail coverage protects the structure of your rental against windstorm and hail damage, including the roof, siding, windows, and other building components. If wind or hail opens the structure and rain gets in, the resulting interior water damage is typically covered as well.
For landlords, the coverage that pairs with it matters just as much: loss of rents coverage replaces rental income while the property is repaired after a covered wind loss. A storm that displaces your tenant for two months is both a repair bill and an income gap, and only one of those is visible on the estimate.
How Obie handles wind coverage
Some carriers in wind-exposed markets exclude windstorm coverage entirely, leaving property owners to find separate wind policies through state programs. Obie takes the opposite approach: every Obie policy includes wind coverage. We never write a policy that excludes wind, hurricane, or hail.
That means no coverage gap to discover after a storm, and no separate wind policy to manage. Your wind and hail deductible is stated plainly in your quote, so you know your number before you ever need it.
Own a rental property in a wind-exposed market? Get a quote and see your exact wind and hail deductible in under two minutes.
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