Homeowners can file second insurance claim for second hurricane

Homeowners hit by Hurricane Laura can file a second insurance claim and for more aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency if they also experienced damages from Hurricane Delta, but they need to carefully follow the rules.

First, note that deductibles for hurricane claims are different than regular insurance. Homeowners won’t have a flat-rate deductible. Instead, it will be a percentage deductible, the Insurance Information Institute said, the Weather Channel reported.

What the homeowner pays out of pocket in a claim will be a percentage usually between 1% and 5% of the insured value of the home.

That means the deductible, which is the cost a homeowner pays out of pocket in a claim, is based on the insured value of the home. Those percentages typically vary from around 1% to 5%. A homeowner with a home insured for $250,000 and a 5% deductible would pay $12,500 out of pocket before the insurance carrier started paying out on the claim.

Louisiana’s insurance commissioner made sure to tell homeowners they only have to pay that deductible once per year, the Weather Channel reported. If a claim for Hurricane Laura met their deductible, they won’t have to meet it again for Delta.

FEMA said property owners need to make a separate application for aid stemming from Delta even if they applied for aid for Hurricane Laura. Photos from before and after Delta are needed to show additional damages from the second storm.

More than $164 million was awarded to individuals and families for aid in Louisiana.

The agency has already approved more than $164 million in aid to individuals and households in Louisiana, the Weather Channel reported.

"We really just need people not to forget about us," Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter told the Associated Press. "We are going to be in the recovery mode for months and probably years from these two hurricanes. It’s just unprecedented and historic what has happened to us."