What is Windstorm Insurance?
By Anthony Peck
There’’s nothing like the beauty of watching a hurricane on the news. For residents of the Midwest and the Northeast Hurricanes Katrina and Ike left a spectacular splash as they touched down, leaving their mark across huge portions of the south. For the families caught in the middle of these storms, however, the sight was slightly less intriguing. These hurricanes left thousands homeless and insurance companies from coast to coast found ways to avoid paying out their claims, dodging the damages caused by winds and hail by claiming they weren”t part of the original homeowners insurance policy.
That’’s why making sure your home is covered by windstorm insurance is so important.
For people living outside of high risk areas windstorm insurance is usually considered to be part and parcel of regular umbrella coverage. Most insurers don”t think too much of the occasional claim from hail damage or the one tornado every (X) number of years that most states get. If you live in a high risk area like the Gulf of Mexico, however, insurers know they”re almost guaranteed to be paying to replace your home at some point. Most try to avoid it by deliberately excluding windstorm coverage from their policies, leaving homeowners to seek out their own coverage policies any way that they can.
For many Texas homeowners that means looking to the TWIA (Texas Windstorm Insurance Association). The TWIA was created to do the same job that FEMA’’s NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) does in high risk flood areas-provide insurance to homeowners who can”t find it in the private sector. The TWIA is a pool of all property and casualty insurance companies authorized to write coverage in Texas, taking the blunt of the blow together to cover their policyholders and make sure that Texans are never left without coverage against the damages that windstorms can leave behind.
If you”re living on the gulf coast of Texas and you need windstorm insurance to protect your home, shop around through the private sector to see if there are any homeowners insurance providers providing coverage in your area. If the answer is no, contact a local insurance agent to inquire about buying coverage from the TWIA. They”ll send you the paperwork to apply, along with the information you need to obtain your WPI-8 certificate.
If you live in an area at high risk of damage by windstorm you don”t just need to be insured against that damage. You also need to do everything you can to make sure that damage is as minimal as possible. History has shown that builders of older homes tended to be less than attentive to little things like building codes, creating homes that were all but guaranteed to blow over the first time the Big Bad Wolf started huffing and puffing. Your home will have to pass inspection before it can be insured, at which point you”ll have the windstorm insurance coverage you need and the gorgeous gulf coast home you deserve.
About The Author
Anthony M. Peck is the Senior Developer, Software Project Manager, and Director of Business Development for QuoteScout.com. For more information on buying Texas windstorm insurance, please visit them on the web at http://www.QuoteScout.com.