How does home insurance work after a storm?

After a named storm in Horry, Georgetown, or Brunswick County, your claim path splits by who carries the wind coverage. Most Myrtle Beach area homeowners policies exclude wind and hail. In that case, wind damage routes through the South Carolina coastal wind insurer (SCWHUA), not your regular carrier. File both: SCWHUA for wind, homeowners for everything else. Your named-storm deductible (2-5% of dwelling) triggers once NOAA names the storm and applies for 72 hours past the warning. Horry and Georgetown require a permit and full code-compliant replacement once more than 25% of the deck is damaged. Document everything before tarping.