how windstorm insurance works
windstorm insurance covers the types of excessively gusty events such as hurricanes and cyclones that are often considered vis major and so might be excluded from standard homeowners insurance policies those who live in areas susceptible to this type of peril must purchase this additional coverage to protect themselves residents of coastal and midwestern states where hurricanes and tornadoes are relatively common fall into this category if you have a mortgage loan and live in a high risk area for windstorms your mortgage lender may require you to purchase windstorm insurance windstorm insurance will typically cover physical damage to the property and personal belongings inside the home many policies also include coverage for detached structures such as garages and sheds when big winds harm roofs and windows rain and debris can cause additional damage in such cases most policies will cover repairs as long as the claim is filed soon after the event sometimes windstorms are followed by storm surges and flooding but windstorm insurance will not typically cover damage caused by these rising waters flood insurance coverage provided by the federal government must be purchased separately and it takes 30 days to go into effect 12neither windstorm insurance nor homeowners insurance will cover repairing or replacing a vehicle damaged by a wind toppled tree or other blowing debris you must carry a comprehensive auto insurance policy to cover a car 3filing a windstorm insurance claimto file a windstorm insurance claim you must take certain steps the most important thing is to act quickly many policies limit the time frame to file a claim for storm damage often this is because failure to fix problems promptly can lead to more damage later immediately after a windstorm a windstorm insurance policyholder should frequently asked questions faqs 