Wilmington · New Hanover County · Insurance
This is the Wilmington page for hurricane damage roof claim. The short version: you want to get a hurricane claim approved and understand the hurricane deductible, and you can have it without a salesperson at the door.
Get a written quoteAerial measurement plus a five-minute history of the house beats a drive-by estimate in an area this varied. Real estate activity drives a lot of the roofing here — pre-listing inspections, buyer credits, and insurance-driven replacements right after closing. Salt air corrodes fasteners and drip edge years before shingles look worn, so coastal roofs often fail from the metal out.
On cost: the hurricane deductible is a percentage of dwelling coverage — often 2% to 5% — not a flat amount, so a claim needs to clear a much higher bar than a regular wind claim.
Building code in coastal counties was tightened after Hurricane Florence; a replacement roof built to current wind provisions can mean a real difference at renewal, not just a formality.
How it works
Not automatically, but the carrier will argue pre-existing wear. An inspection report from before the storm, or good documentation of storm-specific damage patterns (creased shingles, lifted tabs on the windward side), makes the difference.
The hurricane deductible applies only during a named storm declared by the National Hurricane Center and is a percentage of your dwelling coverage. On a home insured for a mid-six-figure amount, that can be five figures. Every other wind event uses the regular flat deductible.
Building code in coastal counties was tightened after Hurricane Florence; a replacement roof built to current wind provisions can mean a real difference at renewal, not just a formality. Wilmington is inside the everyday service radius, so there's no travel surcharge and no "we'll be in the area next month."