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 Georgia’s reference coverage level of $300,000. Enter your own coverage above for your number.
Georgia is one of nineteen states plus the District of Columbia where hurricane or named-storm deductibles are in use, per the Insurance Information Institute. Where Georgia differs from Florida is that the separate deductible is geographically fenced rather than statewide. Carrier underwriting rules commonly require the wind/hail deductible to MATCH the all-other-perils deductible everywhere in Georgia EXCEPT six coastal counties -- Chatham (Savannah), Bryan, Liberty, McIntosh, Glynn (Brunswick, St. Simons) and Camden -- where a different, usually percentage-based wind/hail or named-storm deductible is permitted and is common. Published ranges for those coastal policies run 1% to 5% of insured value, with named-storm deductibles clustering at 1% to 3%. The 2% recorded here sits inside both ranges and is the common middle selection; it is a representative figure rather than a separately measured statewide mode. Practical consequence: an Atlanta-metro homeowner is generally paying one flat deductible for everything, while a Savannah or St. Simons homeowner with a 2% deductible on a $300,000 dwelling limit is carrying $6,000 of exposure on the storm most likely to damage their house. Inland Georgia's real severe-weather exposure is hail and straight-line wind, which fall under the ordinary deductible, not this one.
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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