Most hurricane preparation advice is about the property. This is about the claim, which is decided by evidence that has to exist before the storm, not after it.

None of it takes long, and all of it is worth more in September than it feels in May.

Build the "before" file

The most valuable claim document you will ever own is a dated record of your property undamaged. Once a year, walk the house with your phone: every room from its corners, every elevation from outside, the roof from the ground, the attic, inside closets and cabinets, and the serial and model plates on appliances and HVAC.

Then do the contents. A video walk-through with narration is faster than a spreadsheet and covers far more. Keep receipts and appraisals for anything of real value. Store all of it in the cloud, not only on the phone, and redo it whenever you make a significant improvement.

This is the document that ends "that damage was already there" arguments a year later, and it is the one almost nobody has.

Check five numbers on your declarations page

Your dwelling limit. Construction costs move. A limit set five years ago may no longer rebuild the house.
Your hurricane deductible. Florida requires insurers to offer alternative amounts of $500, 2 percent, 5 percent and 10 percent of the policy dwelling limits, unless the percentage would be less than $500. Work out yours in dollars, not percent, and see whether you are comfortable with it.
Your all-other-perils deductible. The one that applies to everything outside the statutory hurricane window.
Whether contents settle at ACV or replacement cost. Under the standard form personal property settles at actual cash value unless you bought the endorsement.
Whether you have flood, and ordinance or law. Standard property policies generally exclude flood. Ordinance or law covers the increased cost of rebuilding to current code, which on a major loss is a large number.

If those terms are unfamiliar, that is the point of reading it in May rather than in October. ACV vs RCV explains the settlement mechanics.

Know when your hurricane deductible switches on

This surprises people. Florida’s hurricane coverage window begins when a hurricane warning is issued for any part of Florida and ends 72 hours after the last hurricane watch or warning for any part of Florida is terminated. Any part, not your part. Wind damage inside that window is a hurricane loss and draws the percentage deductible.

It also means damage far from the track counts. Hurricane Milton produced a tornado outbreak across the southern and central peninsula on 9 October 2024, the day before its Siesta Key landfall: 45 known tornadoes on land, including three rated EF-3.

Harden the property

Shutters, impact windows, roof tie-downs, secured soffits, and clearing loose debris and dead limbs reduce damage and can reduce premiums. They also evidence that you took reasonable steps, which matters because the standard form obliges you to protect the property from further damage after a loss.

Photograph the mitigation work when it is done. A wind mitigation inspection report is worth keeping with the policy for the same reason.

Have the claim plan written down

Where the policy, the declarations page and the "before" file live, accessible from a phone.
Your carrier’s claim reporting number and your policy number, saved offline.
Who you call for emergency mitigation, agreed in advance rather than chosen from a truck in your street.
A reminder that documentation comes before cleanup, and that emergency protection is required while permanent repairs should wait.
The deadline that matters most: notice of a claim or reopened claim within 1 year of the date of loss, which for a hurricane is the date of landfall.

After the storm, in one line

Safety, then document before anything moves, then emergency repairs with receipts, then notice to the carrier, then an independent scope before you accept any number. The long version is in the hurricane checklist.

Before the next season

We do pre-season documentation walk-throughs and policy reviews for owners across Palm Beach and Martin counties, including Jupiter, Lake Worth and Palm City. It is a much better conversation to have in May than in October.

Your policy is the contract, and forms vary by carrier. The provisions described here come from the standard Homeowners 3 Special Form that most Florida homeowners policies are built on. Read your own declarations page and policy form, or send them to us and we will read them with you.

Sources

Related Storm Prep Resources

Hurricane Claims Florida Tornadoes Claims Homeowners Claims

Florida Hurricane Season Prep Guide