Wind is a covered “peril” in Clarence, NY Insurance Policies.
Wind from Super Storm Sandy just caused the front of a building in New York to be torn off.
So the wind that caused this damage would be covered on this claim. In states like Florida and North Carolina, where they have hurricanes, wind is an exclusion to most insurance policies. There they have “wind pools” to handle the claims from wind.
But in New York (insurance is a state-by-state run department) wind is one of the basic perils that an insured has on his/her policy. Sometimes, out on Long Island or Ocean exposed properties, the wind is a % deductible on the building. So instead of it being a flat deductible, like $1,000 or $2,500, the deductible on a $1,000,000 property might be 3% or $30,000.
This is New York’s way of dealing with the high winds that blow up the Atlantic coast. So those unfortunate property owners in New York can at least be at peace, knowing that wind is a covered peril of insurance. Now those with flood damage are a different story – flood is always excluded on every property insurance policy. It must be purchased separately from the NFIP or National Flood Insurance Program.
Wind is a covered “peril” in Clarence, NY Insurance Policies.
That is why this new issue about FEMA is hitting the airwaves and campaign trails. My guess is less than 1% of property owners in New York carry flood insurance, so would have to rely on FEMA to step in for their flood damaged building. It is in storms like Sandy and prior hurricane’s that have citizen’s looking to the government and FEMA to bail them out. It could easily be done with insurance if it had been in place.
Tom Larsen, Speaker, Author, Insurance Adviser