Guy Enriques says the volume of water that Hurricane Lala dumped on Kaʻū is the most he or anyone he knows has ever seen.
The storm spared the 71-year-old's home in Punaluʻu even as it swept some homes and left two feet of mud inside others. But Enriques doesn't know if insurance would have helped him if his home had been hit.
“I don't even know if I have hurricane insurance. I doubt it. You know, I don't know if I even have flood insurance,” Enriques said.
He is not alone. Many people in Hawaiʻi don't know if their insurance covers hurricanes. The back-to-back arrivals of Lala and Tropical Storm Moke have prompted more people in Hawaiʻi to wonder about it.
Sharilyn Tanaka, the executive vice president of personal insurance and business insurance at Atlas Insurance Agency, recommends talking to your insurance agent to find out whether you have coverage and whether you should get covered if you aren’t.
Normally, a bank will require you to have hurricane insurance if you have a home mortgage. This insurance typically must cover damage to the structure of a home. But some people let their coverage lapse once they pay off their loans.
“Most homeowners don't recognize or don't realize that there is the cost included in their mortgage that does pay for the insurance policy, and so it just renews every year,” Tanaka said. They often don’t understand what their policy covers, she said.
Beyond insuring the structure of a home, homeowners have options to insure detached fences, garages and personal belongings, like furniture and clothing. After a disaster, people most frequently ask whether their insurance covers the cost of alternative accommodations, Tanaka said.
“We do always recommend for our homeowners to understand what they're purchasing, what they're buying,” Tanaka said.
Buying hurricane insurance is a personal choice, said Sam Thomsen, the chief investigator of the Insurance Division at the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
“It really boils down to what kind of risk are you able to absorb? You know, can I eat the $20- or 30,000 roof job, or if not, maybe I should look to ensure that and and, you know, pass that on to an insurance company, pass that risk on,” Thomsen said.
Some might be worried about how they would handle a hurricane completely flattening a home. Rebuilding could cost $500,000 or more.
Another factor might be your home's location.
“How prone is your area to to damage in a storm? Are you on a ridge line? Are you in a valley somewhere? You know, how does that affect the way the wind or the weather gets to you?” Thomsen said.
Hurricane insurance covers wind damage and water damage from rain. But it doesn't cover flooding from overflowing streams or storm surge. For that, you’ll need flood insurance.
“Water damage from the top down - that's when hurricane insurance comes in,” said Dennis Hwang, co-author of “Homeowner's Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards.”
“But if the damage is from the bottom up, that's when flood insurance comes in,” said Hwang, who is a faculty member of the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program.
Thomsen recommends shopping around. Some people buy policies directly from insurance companies and their agents.
Others buy from agents who sell policies on behalf of multiple insurance companies.
“It pays to shop the corner, the corner shop, a broker who can access several different companies and shop the risk,” Thomsen said.
He recommends starting with the agent who sold you car insurance. They probably also sell homeowner insurance, he said.
