Percentage wind/hail deductibles: the surprise in your policy
Many Minnesota policies now carry a separate wind/hail deductible of 1–2% of your dwelling coverage — often thousands more than you expect.
How they work
A traditional deductible is a flat number — $1,000 or $2,500. A percentage wind/hail deductible is a percentage of your dwelling coverage (Coverage A), applied only to wind and hail losses.
On a home insured for $400,000, a 2% wind/hail deductible is $8,000. If your roof costs $20,000 to replace, you're paying nearly half out of pocket — a very different claim than the one you thought you had.
Find yours before the storm
Look at your declarations page for a separate line reading 'Wind/Hail Deductible' with either a dollar figure or a percentage. If it's a percentage, do the multiplication against Coverage A now, so the number doesn't surprise you at claim time.
If the number is uncomfortably high, this is a shopping item at renewal — carriers differ widely, and buying the percentage down is often possible.
Why it matters for repair decisions
A high deductible changes the math on small claims: if damage is marginal, a claim may net you little while still counting toward claim frequency. Get an honest scope first, know your deductible, and decide with real numbers.