At the beginning of hurricane season, Florida homeowners have an option to cover the high cost of their hurricane deductible

New Cat4Home hurricane deductible buy-back program from Zurich and Vertus Insurance Partners eliminates the out-of-pocket expenses of homeowners' hurricane deductible if they file a claim following a loss from a category 1-5 storm

News provided by

Zurich North America

Jun 06, 2019, 14:00 ET

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., June 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- At the beginning of Atlantic hurricane season, Zurich Insurance is launching Cat4Home, a new hurricane deductible buy-back program through Vertus Insurance Partners. Cat4Home is available to residential homeowners in Florida and covers 100% of the hurricane deductible, generally seen as 1 to 5% of the value of their home. In many cases, homeowners are unaware that they have a hurricane deductible and are often not prepared financially to cover this first-dollar responsibility of their homeowner policy deductible.

"After experiencing a hurricane, the last thing homeowners need to worry about is how they will come up with enough money to cover their hurricane deductible," said Greg Massey, head of Programs for Zurich North America. "At a time when homeowners in coastal, hurricane-prone states are facing higher deductibles and a greater probability of hurricane and wind damage, Zurich and Vertus are offering an alternative solution to help them better bounce back after a disaster."

Cat4Home is available in Florida on homes valued up to $5 million and hurricane deductibles from $1,000 to $100,000. For example, a homeowner with a home valued at $500,000 and a 5% hurricane deductible would need to pay out of pocket $25,000 for the hurricane deductible when filing a claim following a category 1-5 storm.

Massey said, "Our new hurricane deductible buy-back program provides homeowners peace of mind that they'll be able to cover that immediate cost before their residential insurance policy kicks in."

"At Vertus, our expertise lies in understanding insurance market voids and creating leading-edge solutions to address them," said Joseph Braunstein, president of Vertus Insurance Partners. "We're honored to offer our Cat4Home program with Zurich, a respected global leader in insurance that provides us with incredible strength and security. We look forward to working with them to fulfill our commitment to our Floridian customers by helping them be better prepared for catastrophic events. Nothing spells hurricane preparedness better than a zero-dollar deductible policy. We will be there to help people recover and get back on their feet in the aftermath of a hurricane."

A listing of areas in Florida where this insurance is available, as well as the specific coverages, can be found at Zurichna.com/ZNA/ProdSols/ZPM/Property/CAT4Home.

For more information about Zurich North America, go to https://www.zurichna.com/zna/services/about-zurich.

SOURCE Zurich North America