Insurers take hit on hurricane deductible!

Sandy a Hurricane in name only......

A decision to not impose hurricane deductibles on homeowners who maintain coverage for their homes and dwellings impacted by Hurricane Sandy will likely be a costly one to insurers.

Typical 'Hurricane' deductibles are based on a percentage of the home value - usually between 2 to 5 percent. Without the Hurricane deductible, many homeowners impacted by the Superstorm will instead just face the standard policy deductible of between $500 and $1000.

Hurricane deductibles are allowed in New Jersey ONLY if the state is hit by a named hurricane with sustained wind speeds of more then 74 miles per hour. The National Weather Service downgraded Sandy to a post-tropical cyclone prior to it making landfall in Atlantic City.

Risk-modeling firms tallying the insured losses from the storm expect losses to be between $16 and $22 billion.