"The eye didn't touch you": what that claim means for your Hurricane Lowell insurance, and what to do this week

Kauaʻi owners are hearing that because the eye of Hurricane Lowell passed offshore, their damage was "tropical storm" damage and their hurricane policy does not apply. Here is how Hawaiʻi policies actually decide that, why one of your policies still has to answer, and the exact steps to take before any deadline passes.

This page is information, not legal or insurance advice. Your policy's wording controls. Read it with this page open, and if anything below conflicts with your policy, the policy wins.

The short version

Hawaiʻi property insurance usually comes in two pieces. Your standard homeowner's or commercial property policy covers wind damage, except that most Hawaiʻi policies exclude "hurricane" wind. A separate hurricane policy (or a hurricane endorsement) covers exactly the wind the first policy excludes. This has been the structure since Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

That structure has a consequence the "eye didn't touch you" argument ignores: the same storm cannot be a hurricane for the purpose of excluding wind from your base policy and a tropical storm for the purpose of denying your hurricane policy. It is one or the other at your location, and whichever it is, one of the two policies is the one that responds.

How a policy decides whether it was a "hurricane"

Policies do not use the eye. Most Hawaiʻi hurricane forms define a "hurricane occurrence" by the National Weather Service: the coverage period begins when the NWS issues a hurricane watch or warning for the area (or when the storm is designated a hurricane), and ends a set time after the last watch or warning is cancelled, commonly 72 hours. Some forms use the NWS designation of the storm and the county it affected. A few use sustained wind speed measured at your location.

So the questions that matter are:

• Did the National Weather Service issue a hurricane watch or warning for Kauaʻi County during Lowell? (NWS Honolulu keeps the advisory archive; your county emergency management office has the timeline.)
• What is the exact definition of "hurricane" in your hurricane policy, and what is the exact wording of the wind or hurricane exclusion in your base policy?
• What does each policy say about the "hurricane deductible," which is often a percentage of the insured value rather than a flat amount?

If a hurricane warning covered Kauaʻi, the "eye" argument is usually beside the point. If no warning covered your area, then your base policy's windstorm coverage is normally the one that applies, and the hurricane exclusion in it should not.

Confidence: moderate to high on the structure and the NWS-trigger language, which is common across Hawaiʻi hurricane forms; you must confirm the wording in your own policy.

There is no product called "tropical storm insurance"

If someone tells you that you needed "tropical storm insurance," ask them to show you the policy form. Windstorm is a standard peril in property policies. A storm that was not a hurricane at your location is a windstorm, and windstorm is what your base policy covers unless a specific exclusion says otherwise. Ask for any denial in writing, with the policy provision cited.

Flood and wind-driven rain are different questions

Water that rose from the ground, the ocean, or a stream is flood, and flood is excluded from almost every property policy in Hawaiʻi. Flood is covered only by a flood policy, usually through the National Flood Insurance Program. Rain that entered through a roof or window the wind opened is generally wind damage and follows the wind rules above. When both happened, insurers apply an "anti-concurrent causation" clause to argue the flood exclusion controls. Photograph the entry points and the water lines before anything is repaired.

What to do this week

• File the claim anyway, with both insurers if you have two. Denials are decisions you can contest; unfiled claims are not.
• Get every denial in writing. Ask for the specific policy language relied on and the storm classification the insurer used for your location.
• Pull the NWS record. The watch and warning history for Kauaʻi during Lowell, with times. Keep it with your claim.
• Document before you repair. Dated photos and video of every damaged area, receipts for emergency repairs, and a written inventory. Keep damaged materials if you can.
• Watch the deadlines. Policies set proof-of-loss and notice deadlines, often 60 days. Ask your adjuster to state them in writing.
• If a denial does not make sense, complain to the state. The Hawaiʻi Insurance Division (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs) takes consumer complaints and can require an insurer to explain a decision. Phone: 808-586-2790. Website: cca.hawaii.gov/ins.
• Business interruption is its own claim. If you have it, it usually requires physical damage to your premises from a covered cause. Note the date you closed and every day you could not operate.
• Public adjusters and attorneys. A licensed public adjuster works for you, not the insurer, for a percentage of the claim. For a large or denied claim, a consultation with an attorney who handles first-party insurance disputes is often worth an hour.

What we will do for free

Bring us your denial letter and your two policies. We will read them with you, line by line, pull the NWS record, and write a one-page summary you can hand to the adjuster or the Insurance Division. No charge, no pitch. Email micah@hawaiiintelligence.com or call (808) 353-4408.