Coastal Home Owners Insurance

We are lucky to live here in New England. The four seasons are questionable. We might have a summer
that starts in April, or a winter that ends in late June. None the less, we all take pride in our hardiness as
we should. After all* “if you don’t like the weather in New England wait a minute or drive a mile”. Don’t you feel better already?

Living in the coastal regions of New England has its challenges. Our homes take a beating because of the constantly changing conditions. Massachusetts has more than 1500 miles of coast that is subject to
Nor’easter’s and deadly hurricanes. Thankfully, the last category two hurricane was back in the late
1960’s named Donna.

Now with improved satellite imagery we have a full seven day forecast. The predictions aren’t always
totally accurate. *I’ll send you back to paragraph one for clarification. For the most part, the reports are
far more precise than in years past. We all benefit from that.

The reason many Massachusetts home insurance carriers are not so willing to insure your home near
the ocean has nothing to do with the fear of flooding. Your Massachusetts home owners insurance
policy DOESN’T cover flood. (a flood insurance policy covers that). It’s the WIND!
Wind is a covered peril and your insurance carrier would have to respond to this type of claim. Be aware
that all carriers have some form of deductible. It might just be a standard $500, $1000, $2500. Your
policy might also have a separate deductible for WIND. I have seen wind deductibles as high as 5% of th
dwelling amount.

This means if you have your home insured for $300,000 and you have a 5% WIND
deductible, that’s $15,000. That’s the cost of a whole new roof for some people.
Be proactive! Pull out your policy and look at it with your broker. If you would rather, contact us at
www.jmdins.com We are here to “steer you in the right direction”.

Before the 2011 hurricane season begins, we want to hear from you!!

Thank you!!