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New home owner here[
] with a question. Just received an insurance quote and it said "this insurer does not allow a wind damage exclusion". Does Hawaii require hurricane insurance? No loan on the house. What's you alls opinion on hurricane insurance on the Big Island?
Thanks
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Hawaii doesn't require hurricane insurance and since there is no loan there is no bank to require it. That being said, we have Dongbu home insurance which runs us about $35 a month and it includes hurricane coverage.
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Homeowner's Premium Comparison Chart -- January 2013
http://hawaii.gov/dcca/home_rates/WEB_Ja...emiums.pdf
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We were not positive when we bought here, after all, what is the chance of a hurricane. But then my very wise MIL reminded us, if we did not have the insurance & a hurricane DID hit, what was the chance we could then replace everything.... and our add premium was not that high....
There is also the possibility that the current ocean temperature trends will increase the potential of cyclonic storms in this region... but then that is betting on a very unknown..
But there is one thing to remember, earthquakes are far more common & have caused more damage on this island than hurricanes....but very few cover earthquake damage (our insurance does not even OFFER it...) So we are still under-covered for all potential events..
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Might want to check the National Weather Service for info about hurricanes that have hit the big island. You won't find any because for as long as they have been keeping track not one has landed. The mountain with its cold air flowing down at night pushes them north or south. We do get tropical storms and weather from the fringes of passing hurricanes but no direct hits. Highest windspeed on record for Hilo is 54 mph. As others have mentioned earthquakes are far more worrisome.
life is short. enjoy it
life is short. enjoy it
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Without a hurricane I have seen groves of ironwood snapped in half here. Wind damage is wind damage. There is a wide variety of exposure to wind. Hard to generalize about the island's winds.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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There were several Ohias on my property that had all fallen in the same direction and continued to grow. I have to assume that they were knocked over by wind rather than that they fell after dying. Of course Ohias are notoriously shallow rooted. It need not have been a hurricane that knocked them down.
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Hurricanes routinely DO hit mountainous islands in the tropics (even other island mountains that have orographic lifting like ours...cloud tops on hurricanes far exceed our paltry mountains...usually they rise 10-15KM above sea level, vs our tallest mountain, under 4.5km above sea level)
More probably it is the OCEAN TEMPS that stalls them here, as higher ocean temps are the power source for cyclonic ocean storms.... and the ocean temps are more ....ummm....moderated at this island, even compared with our northern brethern isles...as most swimmers here will attest ;~) thanks, in part to the currents around this island & the steep slopes (under water) of this very new island
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Banks require hurricane insurance, but if it's a insurance company that only does Hawaii it's a safe bet that they are way underfunded so if there is one they will just go bankrupt.
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Sorry for the late notice:
KITV has their hurricane & storm preparedness show "R U Ready" tonight at 7:30 - good to see with or without insurance coverage:
http://www.kitv.com/tonight-on-kitv-at-8...index.html
added: Just saw the program...had some really good info, inc. some of the intricacies of the insurance issues (ie: hurricane insurance covers high wind damage, but not water damage if your roof is blown off (a really important issue here, as the most damage due to a hurricane here was the 2000 flooding that happened, through a storm that was stall quite a way off shore...& the fact most of the water/flood damaged homes were not in flood zone & NOT covered by insurance...)
Most important is to remember...Are you ready?? they have a great list of things to look at (including our communities..)
