Storms that taught Maryland about wind and water
The Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic coast give Maryland a long shoreline and a long storm history. The 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane cut the inlet at Ocean City. The 1962 Ash Wednesday nor’easter battered the coast for days. In September 2003, Hurricane Isabel pushed a record storm surge up the Bay, flooding Fells Point, Annapolis’ City Dock and shoreline communities from Kent Island to the lower Eastern Shore. In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy brought coastal flooding to Crisfield and Ocean City while dumping blizzard conditions on Garrett County at the other end of the state.
Those storms share a pattern that still drives claim disputes: wind and water arriving together, under two different kinds of insurance.
Wind versus flood: two different policies
A standard Maryland homeowners or commercial property policy typically covers wind damage and excludes flood, including storm surge and rising water. Flood coverage is generally bought separately, most often through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or a private flood policy, and it has its own claim process.
Why the split matters for appraisal
When a storm rips off shingles and water also comes up through the floor, the wind carrier may try to attribute interior damage to flood, while the flood policy may limit what it pays for certain areas such as basements. An appraisal under your property policy values the wind-caused damage. It does not decide whether water damage was caused by flood rather than wind – that causation dispute can turn into a coverage question for the carrier or an attorney. Our job is to document the wind damage clearly enough that it isn’t swallowed by the flood side of the ledger.
Percentage hurricane deductibles near the Bay
Insurers commonly use percentage hurricane, named-storm or windstorm deductibles for properties on the Eastern Shore, in Southern Maryland and in Anne Arundel County. Instead of a flat dollar amount, the deductible is a percentage of the dwelling limit.
Trigger definitions vary by insurer. Some deductibles apply only when the National Weather Service names a hurricane; others extend to tropical storms or to a set period before and after landfall. Points we check on each file:
- The exact trigger language on the declarations page and endorsement.
- Whether the storm met that trigger at the time and place of the loss.
- Whether the deductible was applied once per event or more than once.
- Whether the estimate the deductible was subtracted from is complete.
Try our hurricane deductible calculator and read the Bay hurricane deductible guide before you accept a net figure.
Nor’easters are not hurricanes – usually
A nor’easter is not a named tropical storm, so in many policies the regular deductible applies rather than the hurricane deductible. Some insurers use a broader windstorm deductible that can apply to any wind event. Nor’easters also tend to last longer, driving rain into walls and around windows over a day or more, which can produce interior damage that is easy to dismiss as long-term leakage.
What Maryland Insurance Appraiser documents on storm files
- Roof, siding, window and trim damage with directional evidence.
- Interior water staining tied to storm openings rather than rising water.
- Elevated and waterfront construction details – piers, decks, bulkhead-adjacent structures – where the policy covers them.
- Emergency tarping, board-up and drying invoices.
We work coastal and Bay files from Salisbury to Calvert County, and inland storm claims anywhere a tropical remnant or nor’easter reached.
Questions about hurricane & nor’easter appraisal
Does appraisal decide whether my damage was wind or flood?
No. Appraisal values the amount of covered loss under your property policy. If the insurer says damage was caused by flood rather than wind, that causation and coverage dispute may need the carrier, the Maryland Insurance Administration or an attorney.
Is a nor’easter subject to my hurricane deductible in Maryland?
Usually not, because most hurricane deductibles are triggered by named tropical storms. Some policies use a broader windstorm deductible, so check the exact definition on your declarations page.
Can the hurricane deductible itself be appraised?
The deductible percentage is a policy term, not a valuation item. What appraisal can do is make sure the loss amount the deductible is subtracted from reflects all covered damage.