Tornado Damage and Your Insurance, Explained
Understand your coverage before, during, and after the storm
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Understand your coverage before, during, and after the storm
The recent cluster of tornadoes in the south ravaged Kentucky as well as Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee, leaving a path of devastation in their wake. Many lost their lives, and over 275,000 people were left without power.
Dealing with the aftermath of a storm is stressful enough—and dealing with your insurance policy shouldn’t add extra stress.
If you have a Lemonade Homeowners or Renters policy, we wanted to take a minute to clearly explain the basics: What are you covered for when it comes to tornado damage?
FYI: power outages alone aren’t covered in your policy, but more on that later.
In addition, we’ve included some resources via our friends at the Red Cross (you can also find their helpful tips and advice here).
In short, yes. But as always, individual circumstances can vary, and it’s important to take a look at your own policy.
Tornadoes are classified as a “windstorm”, which is one of the named perils on your policy—meaning an event that Lemonade will help pay for. Keep in mind that you also have a deductible to pay, and your own policy will come with certain limits, depending on the coverage you chose when you signed up.
Windstorms include tornados as well as things like high winds, cyclones, and hurricanes.
If you’re a homeowner:
Some common damage to your home that can happen as the result of a tornado includes roof damage, shattered windows and sliding doors, damage to the garage door, and damage to your home’s siding. This would all likely be covered by your homeowners insurance policy.
Additionally, damage to your personal belongings would also be covered, depending on the specific cause. For instance, if a tornado causes a partial roof collapse—and this leads to damage of your home electronics, appliances, or furniture—these belongings would be eligible for coverage.
If you’re a renter:
You don’t own the physical structure you’re renting, so your renters insurance policy does not cover it (that would be the responsibility of your landlord and their insurance). But your renters insurance would cover tornado-related damage to your personal property—whether it is inside your home or apartment or not.
For instance, let’s say tornado winds smash a window, leading to personal property damage. This would likely be covered. But the same also applies if you have a bicycle locked up to the gate in front of your apartment—if a tornado destroyed the bike, it would be eligible for coverage.
Take note that in the event of a tornado, as per usual, you won’t be covered for any damage from flooding. This is generally not a concern in the aftermath of tornadoes, however. But it’s still good to have a handle on how your insurance policy treats flood damage—you can read about that here.
Also, your car is not considered “personal property” covered by your homeowners or renters policy. So if a tornado causes a tree to collapse on your car, that would fall under the domain of your auto insurance.
The Loss of Use section of your Lemonade Homeowners or Renters policy can help out with costs if your place becomes unlivable due to certain specific circumstances—windstorms included.
Here’s the tough news: Power outages, without other physical damage to the building itself, aren’t covered as part of your policy. Such outages are common in the U.S. due to all sorts of bad or inclement weather, and renters and home policies have limited coverage unless there is actual damage to your home.
Your insurance also won’t cover you for any frozen or refrigerated food that might be ruined due to a power outage.
That said, if you’re forced out of your home for a period of time due to additional tornado-related damages to your property—not solely a power outage—then this is a different scenario. If your property lost its power, but your home also had extensive damage to the roof and physical structure that made it unsafe to stay there, then you may well be eligible for Loss of Use.
If you live in an area that is prone to tornadoes, there are steps you can take to reinforce your home and stop damage before it happens.
While most tornadoes in the U.S. happen March through June, there have been tornadoes documented every month of the year, with climate change making patterns of extreme weather even more unpredictable. Recent events are a prime example of that.
The Red Cross also has some terrific information about how to prep for a possible power outage in advance of catastrophic weather.
If a tornado’s touchdown is imminent, seek shelter preferably in a basement or stairwell (or any room without windows). If you’ve been given a few days’ warning, there are some quick things you can do to protect your home.
Even after the storm has cleared, your home is still at risk, especially if it was damaged in the tornado’s path.
The Red Cross has set up Open Shelters around the affected areas, where anyone can seek out a safe place to sleep, as well as access to food, medical services, laundry, childcare, and more.
Please note: Lemonade articles and other editorial content are meant for educational purposes only, and should not be relied upon instead of professional legal, insurance or financial advice. The content of these educational articles does not alter the terms, conditions, exclusions, or limitations of policies issued by Lemonade, which differ according to your state of residence. While we regularly review previously published content to ensure it is accurate and up-to-date, there may be instances in which legal conditions or policy details have changed since publication. Any hypothetical examples used in Lemonade editorial content are purely expositional. Hypothetical examples do not alter or bind Lemonade to any application of your insurance policy to the particular facts and circumstances of any actual claim.