DENVER (KDVR) –It might be a good time to check home insurance after Wednesday’s windstorm that saw people in the Denver metro area feeling gusts upward of 60 mph.
Home insurance in Colorado has special clauses for wind and hail damage, but homeowners are not required to have wind claims separate from the general homeowner’s insurance. Exact deductibles could be unknown.
There are 19 states that require separate wind insurance coverage, but Colorado is not among them despite being one of the windiest states, according to data from Global Wind Atlas.
In terms of mean wind speed, Colorado ranks ninth in the country. For wind power density, which measures how much power per square meter is available at a wind farm, it ranks sixth.
The eastern half of Colorado joins the Great Plains states in having the greatest wind speeds and power densities. Among the windiest states are Wyoming, Nebraska, the Dakotas and Kansas.
None of these states, however, require separate wind coverage. Those states are almost entirely hurricane-prone, coastal states: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.