It’s more likely we’ll see powerful winds and hail than a tornado during Wednesday evening’s thunderstorms. So, we wanted to know if most homeowners’ insurance covers that kind of damage.
Kirkland’s Holmes Point neighborhood was hard hit by last November’s bomb cyclone.
We found that the answer is yes, your homeowner’s insurance should cover wind damage.
That was the experience of one homeowner. The first time KIRO 7 saw her house was last November — there was a tree on her roof.
“So, the tree was outside this window. So, it kind of hit, and the impact was all here,” said Rachael Luna.
Most of the damage to her house can now be seen only on the inside.
“It blew the paint directly off the walls,” she said. “And all the rafters that were cracked and damaged were actually above here.”
Last November, the damage was visible from the outside, too. A massive tree fell on her Holmes Point home as the bomb cyclone swirled through Western Washington.
The impact was so great, she says, it split the beams that hold up the house.
“Do you remember the sound?” she was asked.
“Oh, yes,” she said. “It was pretty terrifying.”
She says one bright spot has been her homeowner’s insurance.
“They responded really quickly, and they got everything out really quickly,” she said. “So, it’s been a really good experience with them.”
We wanted to know whether homeowners can count on their insurance to pay up if their home is damaged by wind.
“The damage caused by wind and hail will be covered,” confirmed Aaron VanTuyl.
We checked in with the office of the state Insurance Commissioner. We wanted to know whether hail damaging a vehicle is covered by insurance, too.
“That depends on the coverage you have,” said VanTuyl. “But if you have what people generally refer to as full coverage, that would be covered under your comprehensive policy, yeah.”
Luna was asked if she was concerned about the storm that was coming tonight.
“A little bit,” she said. “Since the roof has already been repaired, I’m a little worried about the skylights, if anything comes through.”
Aaron VanTuyl said one thing we found surprising: your insurance rates are based, in part, on how many claims you file. Even if your claim is denied and the insurance company doesn’t pay, he says, you could pay more. Your premium could still go up. The rate is based on the number of claims filed for — period.
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