Louisiana sits in a prime location for hurricanes and tornadoes. Both types of storms can cause significant devastation for property owners caught in their paths.
However, the damage caused by a hurricane and a tornado can differ significantly due to their varying size, intensity, and duration. All of these factors may affect insurance coverage, liability, and claims processing.
Understanding the distinct characteristics of hurricane vs. tornado damage can help you navigate an insurance claim if your home or property has been affected by wind, water, or debris. Contact Insurance Claim HQ for an initial case evaluation to discuss how tornado damage insurance or hurricane damage insurance coverage may affect your right to financial compensation.
Hurricane and Tornado Damage: What’s the Real Difference?
Tornadoes and hurricanes cause property damage in different ways.
Both types of weather events involve strong, rotating winds with air rising around the outside and sinking in the center. However, the difference between a hurricane and a tornado lies in their scale and potential intensity, as well as how each type of system forms.
The Basics of Tornadoes
Tornadoes usually span a few hundred feet across at most, although some of the most devastating tornadoes have had larger diameters.
In Louisiana, tornadoes form from severe thunderstorms that develop when humid, warm air from the Gulf of Mexico collides with cold, dry air descending from the Rocky Mountains and Canada.
Louisiana falls within the area of the U.S. known as Tornado Alley, an area with a higher risk of these storms. Once limited to northern Louisiana, the tornado map has shifted to include more of Central and Southern Louisiana over the years.
Tornadoes may last for anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more, traveling a few dozen miles along the ground.
Although tornadoes frequently have wind speeds equivalent to those of hurricanes, the strongest tornadoes can have wind speeds that greatly exceed the strongest hurricanes on record. As a result, tornadoes can cause devastating damage even to the strongest structures, but tornado damage usually remains limited to their path.
Hurricane Overview
Hurricanes form in the warm waters off the coast of West Africa, the Caribbean, or the Gulf of Mexico.
They can span dozens or hundreds of miles in width and travel thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean, gaining intensity as energy from warm ocean waters fuels the storm.
Hurricanes lose energy once they hit land. However, anyone in Louisiana knows that hurricanes can cause devastating harm, both to property and human life.
Hurricane Katrina destroyed the New Orleans area in 2005, causing shocking damage across a wide area along the hurricane’s path.
Hurricanes Rita, Gustav, Ike, Isaac, Ida, Harvey, Nate, and Laura battered southern Louisiana in the years that followed.
Although well-built structures can withstand the strongest hurricanes better than the most violent tornadoes, hurricanes have a larger path of destruction as they weaken. Storm surge can cause further property damage as hurricane-driven waters infiltrate homes and businesses.
Hurricanes tend to shift into tropical storms as they weaken, continuing to drop heavy rain and winds on homes still recovering from the initial impact of the storm.
Does Home Insurance Cover Hurricane and Tornado Damage in Louisiana?
Homeowner’s insurance can cover hurricane and tornado damage. However, homeowners should review their insurance policies carefully, as homeowners’ policies in Louisiana may have various terms that reflect the state’s unique weather risks.
For example, most homeowners’ policies cover damage caused by wind from weather events such as hurricanes and tornadoes, including damage to roofs, windows, and walls. However, some policies may have a higher deductible limit for wind damage caused by hurricanes, with the limit based on a percentage of the home’s value.
The deductible represents the amount of damage that the homeowner must pay out of pocket before their homeowner’s insurance coverage kicks in.
However, homeowner’s insurance does not cover damage caused by floods that occur during hurricanes (or, in rare cases, tornadoes), as standard policies typically exclude flood coverage. Instead, homeowners who want to protect against flood damage must purchase a separate flood insurance policy.
Many people use the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which offers coverage for both a building and its contents.
What to Do If Your Home Is Damaged by a Hurricane or Tornado
Here are some things you should do after a hurricane or tornado hits your home:
- Take photos of all visible damage. Pictures can show the extent of the storm damage.
- Make temporary repairs or implement specific measures to protect against further damage. Tarps and boarded-up windows can shelter your home from future weather events.
- Review your homeowner’s insurance policy to understand your coverage and applicable deductibles. If you’re unsure of your responsibilities based on the policy, a storm damage claims attorney can help clarify the terms.
- Notify your homeowner’s insurance provider of damage to your property. Insurers get hit hard with claims after a storm. You may have the option to file a claim online or via a mobile application.
- Make arrangements for temporary housing. If your home is uninhabitable after a storm, look for temporary living arrangements with family, friends, or at a hotel or disaster shelter.
- Gather documentation for the cost of any personal property in your home that sustained damage. Tornado and hurricane damage insurance coverage typically covers damage to the dwelling and personal items, such as furniture, electronics, artwork, and other valuables. However, policies vary, so it’s crucial to understand yours.
- Keep copies of ancillary expenses you incur while your home remains damaged or undergoes repairs. Your homeowner’s insurance may cover additional living expenses after a storm.
- Obtain an independent appraisal for repair costs for your home from a contractor or public adjuster. Public adjusters often work in conjunction with storm damage lawyers to support underpaid storm damage claims.
Finally, seek legal advice from a property damage insurance attorney as soon as possible to understand your legal rights and obtain help dealing with your insurance company.
How an Insurance Claim Lawyer Can Help After Storm Damage
A storm damage lawyer from ICHQ can help you through the claims process by:
- Reviewing your insurance policy to help you understand your available coverage and your financial responsibilities under your deductibles
- Helping you document your property damage, including the financial value of damaged or destroyed personal property
- Communicating with insurance adjusters to take the stress of navigating the claims process off your shoulders
- Coordinating with public adjusters and contractors to help you build a solid, evidence-based insurance claim
- Taking legal action as necessary if the insurance company acts in bad faith
Contact Our Louisiana Storm Damage Claim Attorneys Today
At Insurance Claim HQ, we know firsthand how devastating hurricanes and tornadoes can be — not just to your property, but to your peace of mind. Many of our attorneys hail from Louisiana, giving us a deep understanding of our state’s climate and its heightened risk of severe storms.
We know a fair insurance settlement can mean the difference between rebuilding your life and struggling to make ends meet
You deserve a fair resolution to your claim, not a fight. Get ICHQ on your side. Contact us today for a free consultation with one of our Louisiana storm damage lawyers.