Emergency Hurricane Roof Inspections
Did you experience roof damage from a recent hurricane?
We are here to help. Brazen Roofing has the experience and expertise to get the job done right, and we are available 24/7 to help you get your home back to normal. We will be there when you need us! No bull.
We run emergency inspections across the coastal markets we serve — Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville and Raleigh. Below is what we have learned matters most, and most of it is about your policy rather than your shingles.
The number that decides your hurricane claim is not on your roof
If your home is in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia or Florida, your policy almost certainly carries a separate hurricane or named-storm deductible, and it is a percentage of your dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount. Across the states that permit them, these run from roughly 1% up to as high as 15%.
Do that arithmetic before a storm, not after. A 5% hurricane deductible on a home insured for $400,000 is $20,000 out of pocket. The same house with a $1,000 all-other-perils deductible is a completely different conversation. Homeowners are regularly blindsided by this in the week after landfall, and by then there is nothing to be done about it.
Hurricane, named storm, wind and hail are three different triggers
The words are not interchangeable, and which one appears in your declarations page decides which deductible gets applied.
- Hurricane deductible — applies only to damage from a storm categorized as a hurricane by the National Weather Service or the National Hurricane Center
- Named-storm deductible — broader; triggers on any tropical cyclone, tropical storm or typhoon that has been assigned a name or number
- Windstorm or wind-and-hail deductible — broadest; applies to wind or hail damage whether or not the event was ever named
A late-season unnamed nor’easter that peels shingles off a Myrtle Beach roof is not a hurricane loss. A named tropical storm that never reached hurricane strength may or may not trigger the higher deductible depending on which of the three you carry. Pull your declarations page and read the exact wording. It is one line, and it is worth five minutes.
Florida homeowners: the deductible has a start time and an end time
Florida is the most tightly specified of the four states we serve. The hurricane deductible applies once a hurricane warning is issued for any part of Florida by the National Hurricane Center, and the covered window runs through 72 hours after the last hurricane watch or warning for any Florida location is terminated. Damage that occurs inside that window falls under the hurricane deductible; damage outside it does not.
Florida insurers must offer personal residential hurricane deductible choices of $500, 2%, 5% or 10% of the dwelling limit. The deductible applies once per calendar year: if a second hurricane hits in the same year under the same insurer, you face only the remaining balance of the first deductible or your all-other-perils deductible, whichever is greater. And when a hurricane deductible is applied, no other deductible under the policy applies to that loss.
That calendar-year rule is why the timing of a claim matters in an active season. If you have already satisfied the hurricane deductible in a given year, the second storm is dramatically cheaper to claim.
Wind versus water is the fight you cannot win after the fact
A standard homeowners policy covers wind-driven damage. It does not cover flood or storm surge, which requires separate flood coverage. After a hurricane, when a house has taken both, the carrier and the flood adjuster each have an incentive to attribute the loss to the other peril.
The only thing that reliably settles that argument is documentation of what the roof looked like before the water arrived and what the failure pattern shows. Photographs of lifted shingles, creased tabs, torn seals and displaced ridge caps are wind evidence. A water line on drywall with an intact roof is not. We photograph for that distinction specifically.
Why a pre-season inspection is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy
Living on the Southern coast and being prone to hurricanes each year, we cannot stress enough how imperative it is to have your roof inspected before the hurricane season begins. By having a professional inspect your roof, you can be sure that it is in good condition and prepared to withstand the storms.
There is a second reason, and it is the one that pays. A dated pre-season inspection report with photographs is the single strongest piece of evidence a homeowner can hold in a post-hurricane claim. The most common reason a legitimate hurricane claim gets reduced is the carrier attributing damage to pre-existing wear, age or prior storms. A time-stamped record of the roof in sound condition three months before landfall removes that argument entirely.
- Seal integrity and any shingles already lifting at the tab line
- Ridge, hip and rake edges, and whether starter course is present and bonded
- Flashing at chimneys, walls, skylights and pipe boots
- Fastener pattern and nail placement, which is the usual failure point in high wind
- Soffit and vent condition, since wind-driven rain enters at intake before it enters at shingles
- Decking attachment where it is visible from the attic
What hurricane damage actually looks like
Hurricane season is an important time for homeowners to be aware of the potential damage that can occur. Wind damage is one of the most common types of damage. High winds can lift shingles off the roof, which then leads to water infiltration and damage to the roof deck. Hurricane damage can also occur if flying debris strikes the roof, causing holes or cracks.
Much of it is invisible from the driveway. A shingle whose seal strip has broken but has not blown off still looks fine from the ground and will leak in the next ordinary rainstorm. That is why we walk roofs rather than assess them from a truck window.
Get on the list now
Do not wait to get your roof checked after a storm. Contact us now and we will send someone out to take a look as soon as possible. Emergency response is part of our full Storm Restoration service, and our insurance claims guide walks through what happens after the inspection. You can also reach us here if you would rather talk to a person.
A hurricane deductible is a separate, usually percentage-based deductible that applies only to hurricane damage. Instead of a flat dollar amount, it is a percentage of your dwelling coverage limit, ranging from about 1% to as high as 15% across the states that allow them. On a home insured for $400,000, a 5% hurricane deductible is $20,000. Check your declarations page before the season starts, not after a storm.
It depends which trigger your policy uses. A hurricane deductible applies only to a storm categorized as a hurricane by the National Weather Service or National Hurricane Center. A named-storm deductible is broader and triggers on any named tropical cyclone or tropical storm. A windstorm or wind-and-hail deductible is broader still and applies whether or not the storm was ever named.
In Florida, the hurricane deductible applies from the moment a hurricane warning is issued for any part of the state by the National Hurricane Center, and continues for 72 hours after the last hurricane watch or warning for any Florida location is terminated. Damage occurring inside that window falls under the hurricane deductible.
No. The Florida hurricane deductible applies once per calendar year with the same insurer or insurer group. For a second hurricane claim in the same year you face the greater of the remaining balance of the first hurricane deductible or your all-other-perils deductible. Once the hurricane deductible has been fully satisfied, later hurricane claims that year face only the standard deductible.
No. Standard homeowners insurance covers wind-driven damage but excludes flood and storm surge, which require separate flood coverage. After a hurricane that brought both, the wind carrier and the flood adjuster each have reason to attribute the loss to the other. Documentation of the roof damage pattern is what settles it.
Two reasons. A sound roof survives high wind better than a compromised one. And a dated inspection report with photographs is the strongest evidence you can hold in a claim, because the most common reason a valid hurricane claim gets reduced is the carrier attributing the damage to pre-existing wear or prior storms. A time-stamped record from before landfall removes that argument.