Hurricane deductibles may be used on LI

Long Islanders may have their first brush with a hurricane percentage deductible on their home insurance if Hurricane Irene crosses over the Island.

Starting in the early 1990s, deductibles for hurricane damage -- ranging from 1 percent to 5 percent of total coverage on top of any other deductibles -- were written into homeowners' insurance policies, but since then Long Islanders haven't had to deal with their consequences, local insurance brokers said.

"They put the deductibles in place, and since then we haven't had a storm that's triggered the deductible," said Tom Crowley, chairman of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York.

The hurricane deductible is activated by different factors, which are determined by the insurance agency and noted on the specific policy signed by the homeowner, Crowley said. The strength of the hurricane, where the eye of the hurricane is relative to the location of the home, and the area in which the hurricane makes landfall are all variable factors that could determine if a hurricane deductible goes into effect.

Policies for hurricane deductibles are long and complicated, and most home insurance buyers tend to skim over them, added Crowley, who also owns Maran Corporate Risk Associates in Southampton.

"This is going to bring to light the hurricane deductible issues for homeowners in New York State and on Long Island. Everyone has them," said Denis Miller, president of Denis A. Miller Insurance in Long Beach.

Meanwhile, many homeowners attempting to boost their coverage at the last minute are out of luck.

Allstate Insurance Co., for example, put a moratorium on issuing any property coverage for the Long Island and New York metropolitan areas Thursday, company spokeswoman Jackie Darrohn wrote in an email.

Halting new coverage is a normal course of action for insurance companies when there's an impending storm, said Jeanne Salvatore, a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute. Crowley added that several insurance providers have contacted him this week to announce that they will not obligate any new policies issued before the storm.

Separately, flood insurance -- which is issued and regulated by the National Flood Insurance Program -- has a 30-day waiting period before taking effect.

Although flood insurance is mandatory for those who own homes in flood zones determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, storms in the last few weeks have flooded areas where flood insurance is not required, Miller said.

"It doesn't matter that you're not near the water. It will go anywhere and everywhere if the land is saturated," he said.