Homeowners of Owensboro, KY (and the rest of western Kentucky, to be honest), I have some news you probably need to know.
The two largest captive insurance carriers in Kentucky cover nearly 30% of the state's homeowners market between the two of them (NAIC 2024). And both have been quietly shifting policies away from fixed deductibles and toward percentage deductibles — a homeowners insurance change that could cost you thousands more when you file a claim.
In Owensboro (and Hawesville, Lewisport, Livermore, Calhoun, Beaver Dam, Hartford, Central City, Greenville…well, you get the point), where both carriers have a strong local presence, that number is very likely to be higher than the statewide figure. If you've never had this change explained to you, you're not alone — and that's exactly why we're writing this.
The first thing you need to know? You didn't do anything wrong. No one can be blamed for trusting carriers and agents who have such a large part of the market share in Kentucky. If it makes everyone else happy, it can't be that bad, right? (Thanks for the assist, Sheryl!)
But, I digress. (Got distracted…you'll have that when Ms. Crow is involved.) Back to business — and this is important.
This matters. This matters A LOT.
Since this change will impact both you and your wallet, let's talk about what it actually means.
Most people who have had homeowners insurance for any length of time are used to seeing a flat dollar amount on their declarations page — a $500 deductible, a $1,000 deductible, maybe $2,500. That number is simple and predictable. If you have any kind of claim, it's the amount you pay out of pocket before your insurance policy makes you whole.
A percentage deductible works MUCH differently. Instead of a fixed dollar amount, your deductible is calculated as a percentage of your home's insured replacement value — the amount it would cost to rebuild your home from the ground up.
Here is what that looks like in plain numbers for a typical home in Daviess County.
Say your home has a replacement cost value of $275,000 — which is not unusual in our market right now.
Same house. Same storm. Same damage. Very different hit to your pocket before insurance steps in.
And here is the part that makes this change especially significant for homeowners in western Kentucky: these percentage deductibles are most often applied specifically to wind and hail damage. Not water damage from a burst pipe. Not fire. Wind and hail — which is exactly what our part of the state gets hit with regularly every spring and summer. This is not a deductible tucked away for rare, catastrophic events. This is the deductible that applies to the most common type of home insurance claim we see in this area.
The honest answer is that it puts more risk back on homeowners. When severe weather moves through a region, the volume of claims filed at once puts real financial pressure on insurance carriers. Percentage deductibles reduce what a carrier pays out on each of those claims, which helps their numbers. For you, as the policyholder? It means you have more skin in the game — often without fully realizing it.
That is not inherently a dishonest thing for a carrier to do. Insurance markets change, and carriers adjust. It is a business decision.
The problem is what happens — or doesn't happen — after that decision gets made. You're being left out of the conversation.
Several of the carriers that dominate the homeowners market in Owensboro and Daviess County use captive agents — agents who work exclusively for one company and cannot shop your coverage elsewhere. They don't have the ability to move you to a different carrier if the coverage stops making sense for your situation.
That creates a real conflict of interest when their carrier makes a change that meaningfully increases your financial exposure at claim time. Because the moment an agent explains what a percentage deductible actually costs a client — especially one with a $250,000 or $300,000 home — that client is going to start asking questions. And questions lead to shopping. And shopping is something a captive agent can't really help you with.
So some of those conversations aren't happening. And clients are finding out about the change not at renewal, not in a letter, not in a phone call from their agent — but when they file a claim and find out their deductible is three or four times what they expected. In the middle of dealing with storm damage to their home.
That type of business practice only helps one side in the agreement. (Unfortunately, fellow homeowner, you aren't on the winning team in that analogy.) This is exactly the kind of thing we started Elite Risk Advisors to push back against. If you want to understand more about why we do things the way we do, you can read our story here.
Pull out your homeowners insurance declarations page — it should have come with your most recent renewal. Look at the deductible section. If you see something like "1% wind/hail" or "2% all-peril" or any percentage rather than a flat dollar amount, you have a percentage deductible.
Do the math on your home's insured value. Make sure you know what you would actually be responsible for if you had to file a claim tomorrow.
If you're not sure what you're looking at, or you want someone to walk through your coverage with you in plain language, that is something we do — and we do it at no charge.
We are an independent agency. We represent multiple carriers, which means if we review your policy and your current coverage no longer fits your situation or your budget, we can actually help you find something better. We're not limited to one set of options.
And if your current coverage is solid? We will tell you that too. (I promise.) We would rather give you peace of mind and send you on your way than write a policy that doesn't actually improve things for you. That just isn't an Elite way of doing business.
You shouldn't have to find out what your deductible really means when you're already standing in a damaged house.
Get a free coverage review at eliteriskagent.com/get-a-quote — no sales pitch, no pressure.
Elite Risk Advisors is an independent insurance agency serving Owensboro, Daviess County, and western Kentucky. We represent multiple carriers and are not exclusive to any single company. Coverage availability and pricing vary by individual circumstances — contact us for a personalized review.