The summer of 2025 has brought some intense weather conditions to Lancaster County Pennsylvania- historic rainfall and relentless thunderstorms that come just about every night. With such unpredictable conditions, homeowners may be wondering how they are covered from hail, lightning, heavy rain, and other things mother nature might throw their way.
Roof Damage
Hail is probably the biggest risk that a homeowner may face when it comes to summer storms. Roofs tend to not handle hail very well and it could lead to a lot of damage to a home. This is covered under a traditional homeowner’s policy, but the thing to watch out for is what we call predatory contractors or storm chasers. As soon as a hailstorm rolls through, roofers will show up immediately saying they will get you a free new roof. Before you are too quick to sign the contract, make sure you find a roofing company that you can trust to inspect the roof for hail damage. That way you know you will have insurance coverage. If there truly is hail damage, you pay your property deductible, then the rest of the roof is paid for by your insurance company.
Car Damage
If your car gets damaged by a storm, that is a comprehensive claim. Comprehensive claims can be explained as things that are not your fault. If you hit something, whether it’s another car, a tree, a mailbox that’s a collision claim. Comprehensive claims cover damage from storms and hail, because there is nothing you can do about it. In this case, you would pay your comprehensive deductible, then your car would be fixed or replaced if the damage is bad enough
Lightning
Some Lancaster County homes in 2025 have experienced damage from lightning strikes. If lightning causes a fire, that is a covered peril by your insurance policy, so you would then have money for the repair or full replacement of your home. Most of the time the deductible is around one thousand dollars, and then we will help you rebuild your entire home from the ground up.
Heavy Rain and Flooding
This past summer has brought unbelievable amounts of rain. It is almost like every night we get at least an inch of rain along with a crazy thunderstorm. Manheim, Lancaster, and Lititz were amongst some of the places that were affected by this heavy rain and flooding.
Traditional homeowner insurance policies do not cover flood insurance or flooding to your home. But, if the water comes up through the basement sump hole, and your sump pump fails, there is a backup of sewer and drain coverage that you could add on your insurance policy. If it comes down through the ceiling from a burst pipe that is also covered. But if it comes in through the walls, that is considered a flooding event and not covered by the majority of homeowners’ policies.
Erie Insurance does have an endorsement called Extended water, which is kind of a quasi flood policy, but most flood policies are implemented through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). That is paid for by the government, and it’s a separate policy. If your home is in a flood zone and you have a mortgage on your home, they will most likely require you to have flood insurance. If flooding comes in and you have an NFIP flood policy, you have coverage. If you have a standard homeowner’s policy and you’ve never had a flood ever, but this year you might have, you may not be happy to find out that your homeowner’s policy does not cover flooding.
Temporary Living
A homeowner’s policy covers all the things that are encompassed with being a homeowner. One of those things is it’s the place where you live. If lightning causes a fire, for example, and you can’t live there anymore, your insurance will pay for a place to stay while your home is being rebuilt. A lot of insurance companies have a dollar amount to use on temporary living until your home is habitable. Other companies we work with, like Erie Insurance, have an amount of time (typically 12 or 24 months) that they will give you to rebuild your home. If your home burns down, initially there is chaos and panic, and you will get a hotel room or someplace safe as you start to rebuild things. Then if it’s going to take a year or two to rebuild a home, the insurance company could rent you a temporary home. Thanks to your insurance company, your physical home isn’t only covered, your family is covered for a place to live.
It’s good to sit down with your insurance agent just to make sure you know what you have. Do you have flood insurance provisions on your policy? Do you need a flood policy? Do you have enough loss of use for temporary living? Is $100,000 or 24 months enough? Ask an agent at Susquehanna Insurance for an individualized policy. They can help you through different scenarios. Whether you are in Manheim, Lititz, Lancaster, or somewhere else in Lancaster County, your situation might be different.