Loganville Homeowners: Deductibles. What are they?

That nasty wind storm we had blew a tree over on to your house, what now?

​Your dishwasher broke and flooded your kitchen! Now what?
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If you have never had to file a claim and suddenly find yourself needing to, there are a few things you need to consider. The biggest one is your deductible!

“But what is it?”

This is the biggest question people have had about owning a home. The easy answer, the deductible is the amount of
the cost of the claim that you are responsible for in the repair/replacement of what was damaged or lost. But it can
get a little confusing for homeowners.

“Well that doesn’t seem so confusing.”

The complication comes from how your home policy was written. Insurance Companies now determine deductibles in two ways. So let’s take a look at them.
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The first one, Flat Dollar Deductible. This is the simplest one and our personal preference. This is shown as a dollar amount, the two most common; $1000 and $2500. This functions much like it does as your car insurance does for comprehensive and collision coverage. That dollar amount listed is what you are responsible for. The second, Percentage Deductible. This one varies depending on the dwelling amount you have on your home. Example, your home is covered for $350,000 and you have a 1% deductible. That makes your deductible and the portion you are responsible for $3,500. This can fluctuate, if your dwelling amount was $350,000 last year, but this year it went up to $370,000, then your deductible went up with it. Also, keep in mind that there are 2% and 3% deductible. So if your dwelling amount is $350,000 then your deductible can be at $7000 or even $10,500.

“That still doesn’t seem so confusing.”

We all know Georgia’s weather can be very up and down. Parts of the year we have the wind and hail and some tornadoes, then that same year we could be hit with a hurricane as we’ve seen in the past few years.

The confusion with the deductible comes from how your deductibles are to be applied. Yes I said deductibles. Some companies may have 1, 2 or even 3 deductibles listed on your policy. So let’s take a look at that.

1. Wind & Hail - this deductible is applied to claims involving hail, wind, and tornadoes. This is more than likely a roof claim in the Loganville area but can involve other parts of your house if the storm gets too crazy.
2. Hurricane or Named Storm - this deductible is going to be applied to those storms that have a name attached to them. For example, in 2020 when Hurricane Zeta and in 2018 when Hurricane Michael came through the center of Georgia. This deductible affects more of a big deal in Coastal Georgia, but has had an affect on north and central Georgia as well.
   
3. All other Perils - As it sounds, this is going to encase everything else that is covered by your Loganville home insurance policy that does not fall into either of the aforementioned categories. Did you know that outside of Wind/Hail claims, that the second most filed claim in Walton County, Georgia is Sudden Water discharge?

Now that we have gone over the types of deductibles and how they can be split up in Georgia, here are a few tips to
keep in mind.

• Flat deductibles are preferred as there is no question on what your portion is and it will not fluctuate based on your dwelling amount.
• 1% are ok and are pretty standard for companies to set them for the wind/hail and hurricane deductibles., (as I said not our personal preference, but sometimes it is a company standard) but be sure you do not have a 2 or 3% or you could be paying for your claim out of your own pocket.
• If you are ever concerned about what to do when it comes time to file a claim, call your local agent and find out the best route of getting it done. They can help navigate you on the best way to get it filed.

The deductible selection is one of the key components of finding the right fit for your Georgia home insurance policy. Working with an independent insurance agent can help you find the right value for the deductible you want so you can maximize your coverage.