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What if I can’t afford my home insurance deductible?
We’re super tight on cash right now, but I need to call a repair service to fix damage to my roof that resulted from a severe thunderstorm. My deductible is $1,000 and I know I can’t pay it right now, but the roof can’t wait. What if I can’t afford my home insurance deductible?
Bellina Gaskey · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Sorry to hear about the roof damage and your financial distress. This situation can feel overwhelming, but try not to panic. Just because you can’t afford your home insurance deductible doesn’t mean you can’t file a claim anyway.
People usually define deductible as the amount you’ll pay before insurance kicks in. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to pay the insurer first—it just means you have to pay your deductible amount to the repair service and your insurer will cover the rest.
Of course, if the claims adjuster places your repair cost estimate at a value lower than your deductible, the insurance won’t help you at all. If you can, contact your repair service of choice when you contact your insurer to see if both companies can make a fair estimate together.
In any case, a roof leak is likely to cost over $1,000 to repair. Go ahead and file a claim with your insurance company to get started on repairs. You’ll need to be upfront with the repair service, though, and try to work out a payment plan to cover the deductible over time.
Now turning to the future—you may want to consider readjusting your policy to
get a lower deductible
. Having a lower deductible can alleviate stress after an incident, but you will have to pay a higher monthly premium to compensate.If you need to free up some extra cash to bolster your rainy day fund, look no further than
Jerry
to find the best insurance savings. Sign-up is completely free, and you’ll have access to competitive quotes from top providers to make an easy switch. Jerry can also help you bundle your home and car insurance
to save even more. View full answer
- Gregory R.
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Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents. We aren’t paid for reviews or other content.
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