What your storm deductible actually comes to in dollars, and whether raising your regular deductible is worth the exposure. Estimates only — not a quote.
No separate wind, hail, or hurricane deductible is standard in Washington. Your ordinary deductible — typically $1,000 here — applies to storm damage too. Checked, not skipped. Washington has no hurricane or named-storm exposure and does not appear on the NAIC's list of nineteen states plus DC with hurricane or named-storm deductibles; no source consulted describes a separate percentage wind/hail deductible as an ordinary feature of a Washington homeowners policy either. The state's two headline catastrophe perils are handled differently and neither creates a separate deductible on a standard policy. WILDFIRE is covered as a fire loss under the ordinary all-perils deductible - the August 2025 Spokane fire that destroyed roughly 700 homes and forced 60,000 evacuations was a standard fire claim for insured homeowners, not a catastrophe-deductible event. EARTHQUAKE is the more consequential gap: a standard Washington homeowners policy EXCLUDES earthquake, so Cascadia subduction zone and Seattle Fault risk has to be covered by a separate earthquake policy or endorsement, which carries its own percentage deductible - commonly in the 10-25% of dwelling-limit range - and is bought by only a minority of Washington homeowners. That deductible belongs to a separate product and is deliberately not recorded in this field, but it is the single largest uninsured exposure in the state.
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.
What homeowners insurance costs in your state, and whether what you pay is out of line.
Is your dwelling coverage actually enough to rebuild — and what a shortfall costs at claim time.
Did your renewal go up more than premiums did across your state — and what to do about it.
Your renewal jumped and the carrier said 'rates went up.' Here is what is actually driving it, how to tell whether yours outran your state's, and the four levers that genuinely move the number.
Flood and earth movement are excluded from every standard homeowners policy — and the clause that excludes them is written so a wind-and-water loss can be denied entirely. Here is what is out, and what fills each gap.
Non-renewed, cancelled, or declined: read the notice correctly, stop force-placed insurance, fix the reason code on it, and get the house insured again in 30 days.
The exact sequence to run when your house is damaged — mitigation, documentation, the claim call script, the adjuster visit, reading the estimate, and every escalation step in order.