Wind exposure is not uniform along the coast. Insurers divide wind-prone geography into tiers, and the tier a property sits in drives how large its percentage wind deductible is — and therefore how much a buy-down matters. Understanding your zone is the starting point for sizing the retention behind your deductible.
The coastal wind tiers
The highest-hazard band nearest the shoreline is generally called Tier 1, where wind deductibles and pricing are most severe. Inland of it, Tier 2 is still wind-exposed but typically carries somewhat lower deductibles. Both are core territory for wind deductible buy-down, because both can carry percentage deductibles large enough to strain an owner’s balance sheet after a storm.