I Thought My Homeowners Deductible Was $1,000. Why Is There Another One?

You are shopping your homeowners insurance because the price went up.

You send over your current policy. Someone points to the deductible.

$1,000.

You knew that.

Then they point a little farther down the page.

There is also a 1% wind and hail deductible.

Wait. Two deductibles?

Yes.

One policy, different deductibles

A homeowners policy can use different deductibles for different covered losses.

Using our example, a covered water loss from a burst pipe uses the $1,000 deductible.

Covered wind damage to the roof uses the 1% wind and hail deductible.

If the home is insured for $400,000, that 1% equals $4,000.

Same house. Same policy.

Different cause of loss. Different deductible.

Why this matters when you shop

Now imagine two quotes.

Both look similar at first glance.

One has a 1% wind and hail deductible.

The other has 2%.

On a $400,000 home:

1% = $4,000 2% = $8,000

If the second quote costs less, the lower price is only part of the comparison. You are also agreeing to a larger share of a covered wind or hail loss.

That does not automatically make the higher deductible wrong. It means you need to know the tradeoff before you choose.

How to compare the quotes

Put the deductibles next to each other.

Turn every percentage into dollars.

Check which covered losses use each deductible.

Then compare the premium.

That gives you a real comparison.

A cheaper quote is not much of a bargain if you thought the policies were the same and only learned about the deductible difference after a storm.