Hurricane preparation, the part nobody covers
The supplies list is everywhere and it is fine. The half that decides what happens afterwards is documentation and insurance, and it has to be done months before a storm has a name. A flood policy bought when a hurricane is forecast will not respond — there is a 30 days† waiting period, and that is the entire point of it.
Before the season, not before the storm
- Read your declarations page properly. Specifically: the hurricane deductible in dollars rather than as a percentage, whether the roof settles at replacement cost or actual cash value, what the screen enclosure position is, and whether you have flood at all.
- Buy flood cover if you are going to. 30 days† means this is a quiet-week decision. NFIP caps building cover at $250,000†.
- Get a wind mitigation inspection if you do not have a current one — worth roughly 20–30% of the total premium† and it also tells you what your house actually has.
- Photograph or video the entire house, inside and out, and store it somewhere that is not in the house. This is the single highest-value hour on this page.
- Scan the documents — policy, deed, wind mitigation report, permits, appliance receipts, inventory of anything valuable — to cloud storage.
Almost every post-storm dispute is about whether the damage predates the event. You cannot produce that evidence afterwards, and nobody else has it. Ten minutes walking the property with a phone, once a year, is the cheapest insurance-adjacent thing available — and it costs nothing.
When a storm is named
- Deploy protection early. Shutters only work if someone puts them up, which is the trade you accepted when you chose them over impact glass.
- Note that binding usually closes. Insurers stop writing new policies and endorsements once a storm is in the box. Anything you meant to change is now next year’s decision.
- Photograph again, immediately before. A dated set from the day before landfall is unusually persuasive.
- Move what matters upward and inward — documents, electronics, anything irreplaceable.
Afterwards, in order
- Photograph and video before touching anything. Wide for context, close for detail, with the date in the file metadata.
- Mitigate, but do not repair. Tarp the roof, board the window, start drying. You have a duty to prevent further damage; you do not have permission to start rebuilding.
- Keep every receipt — tarps, boarding, drying equipment, hotel nights. Frequently reimbursable and routinely thrown away.
- Report the claim. Notice is due within 1 year† of the loss, and for a weather event the clock starts at landfall rather than when you noticed the damage.
- Do not discard damaged property until the adjuster has seen it or authorised disposal in writing.
a policyholder may not assign, in whole or in part, any post-loss benefit under a residential property insurance policy† for policies issued from 1 January 2023† — so a crew presenting an assignment of benefits is either working from old paperwork or counting on you not knowing. An offer to waive your deductible is insurance fraud and makes you a participant. And nothing legitimate requires a signature before you have read it, on the worst day of your year.
The deadlines that follow
- Insurer must acknowledge communications within 7 calendar days† and pay or deny within 60 days† — not the ninety days still widely quoted.
- Supplemental claims within 18 months†, which matters because the full extent of damage frequently emerges months later.
- Public adjuster fees are capped at 20%†, dropping to 10%† for claims from a declared emergency within the following year — which after a named hurricane is usually the applicable one.
The things worth doing that are not on supply lists
- Know where your water main shut-off is, and your electrical panel, before you need them in the dark.
- Keep enough cash for a few days. Card systems fail when power does.
- Fill the car, and fill the bath. Water pressure goes before the water does.
- Agree with family where you will meet and how you will contact each other if phones do not work.
- Photograph your medication labels, not just the boxes.
Related
Common questions
Can I buy flood insurance when a hurricane is forecast?
You can buy it, but it will not respond. NFIP policies carry a 30-day waiting period, which exists precisely to prevent that — so it is a decision for a quiet week rather than a forecast.
What is the most useful hurricane preparation nobody mentions?
Photographing or filming the entire house, inside and out, and storing it outside the house. Almost every post-storm dispute turns on whether damage predates the event, and that evidence cannot be produced afterwards.
Can I make repairs before the adjuster sees the damage?
Only emergency mitigation — tarping, boarding, drying. You have a duty to prevent further damage but repairing beyond that removes the evidence your claim depends on. Keep every receipt.
How long do I have to report hurricane damage in Florida?
One year from the date of loss, with 18 months for a supplemental claim. For weather events the clock starts at landfall or NOAA verification rather than when you noticed the damage.
Should I sign anything a contractor gives me after a hurricane?
Not without reading it. Assignments of benefits are no longer permitted on residential policies issued from 2023, and an offer to waive your deductible is fraud that makes you a participant.
Claim deadlines sit in §627.70131 and §627.70132, assignment of benefits in §627.7152, and public adjuster fee caps in §626.854. Flood terms are set by the NFIP. Your own deductible and settlement basis are on your declarations page.