Hurricane season starts June 1. Here's a Florida prep checklist that actually matters at claim time
Most hurricane prep articles cover the obvious (water, batteries, evacuation route). Important, but from a claims standpoint what actually determines whether your claim pays smoothly is documentation and coverage decisions you make before the storm. Here's the version I give my own clients.
1. Understand the wind vs flood problem. This is the biggest one.
A huge number of Florida hurricane claims get denied or paid less than expected because the damage is determined to be flood, not wind. Standard homeowners covers wind. It does not cover flood, including storm surge. If water entered from the ground up, that's flood. If water entered through a hole the wind put in your roof, that's typically wind. Adjusters make the call after the storm based on physical evidence, and it's where most disputes happen.
Two things to do now:
If you don't have flood insurance, get a quote. NFIP has a 30-day waiting period on most new policies, so you can't wait until a storm is in the Gulf. Some private flood policies have shorter waits, but read the fine print.
About 25% of flood claims come from properties outside high-risk zones. "I'm not in a flood zone" is not a reason to skip it.
2. Pull your declarations page and read it.
Specifically check: hurricane (or named-storm) deductible, all-other-perils deductible, dwelling limit (Coverage A), and sublimits for screened enclosures, pools, fences, or detached structures. A 5% hurricane deductible on a $400k home is $20,000 out of pocket before the policy responds. Know the number.
3. Photo and video inventory before the season.
Walk every room with your phone, open closets and cabinets, capture serial numbers on appliances. Save it to cloud storage. The single most useful claims document most people don't have.
4. Wind mitigation report.
A current report can lower your premium and helps at claim time. Most are good for 5 years.
5. Contractor list.
Save names and numbers for two or three local roofers and water-mitigation companies. Post-storm demand spikes immediately and your internet connection may be very poor.
6. Renters: get a renters policy.
Your landlord's insurance covers the building, not your stuff. Renters insurance in Florida is cheap and includes additional living expense if you have to evacuate.
What's the biggest thing you wish you'd done differently before the storm? I called a local roofer the morning hurricane Helene when my home had substantial damage to my roof. This got me ahead of the long list of people needing a roof replacement and kept me from going with an out of town roofer/storm chaser.