Hurricane Season Insurance Checklist: Florida 2026

Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30. That gives you a narrow window — right now — to review your coverage before a named storm makes it impossible to change anything.

Florida law prohibits insurers from binding new homeowners policies or increasing coverage once a tropical storm or hurricane watch is issued for your area. If you wait until a storm is in the Gulf, it's too late.

This checklist walks you through every coverage question you should answer before June ends. It takes about 20 minutes. It could save you tens of thousands of dollars.

This is the single most misunderstood part of Florida homeowners insurance.

Most Florida policies have two separate deductibles:

• A standard deductible (typically $500–$2,500) for non-hurricane claims like fire, theft, or water damage
• A hurricane deductible — usually 2%, 5%, or 10% of your home's insured value, not a flat dollar amount

Here's what that means in practice: If your home is insured for $400,000 and you have a 5% hurricane deductible, you pay the first $20,000 out of pocket before your insurance covers anything.

What to do right now:

• Pull out your declarations page (the first page of your policy)
• Find the line that says "Hurricane Deductible" or "Named Storm Deductible"
• Calculate what that percentage means in actual dollars for your home
• Make sure you have that amount accessible in savings or a home equity line

If your hurricane deductible feels unmanageable, call your agent. Some carriers offer lower percentage deductibles in exchange for a higher premium — and for many South Florida homeowners, that trade-off makes sense.

Construction costs in South Florida have risen sharply since 2020. Labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and post-hurricane demand surges have pushed rebuild costs up 30–50% in many areas.

If you haven't updated your dwelling coverage limit in the last two years, there's a real chance you're underinsured.

What to do:

• Find your dwelling coverage limit on your declarations page (labeled "Coverage A")
• Compare it to current construction costs in your area — a licensed contractor or your insurance agent can give you a rough estimate
• Ask your insurer about an inflation guard endorsement or extended replacement cost coverage, which automatically adjusts your limit as costs rise

A standard policy pays the lesser of your policy limit or the actual cost to rebuild. If rebuilding costs $500,000 but your policy only covers $350,000, you absorb the $150,000 difference.

This surprises homeowners every single year: standard homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage.

Not from storm surge. Not from rising water. Not from a hurricane pushing the ocean into your neighborhood.

Flood damage is only covered by a separate flood insurance policy — either through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or a private flood insurer.

What to do:

• Check whether you have a separate flood policy in your insurance file
• If you have a mortgage, your lender may require flood insurance — but "required by lender" often means minimum coverage, not full replacement value
• If you don't have flood insurance, call your agent immediately — NFIP policies have a 30-day waiting period before coverage takes effect, so there's no time to waste

South Florida flood risk note: Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties have some of the highest flood risk in the country. Even homes not in a designated flood zone can flood during a major hurricane. FEMA flood maps are updated regularly — your risk designation may have changed since you last checked.

Florida law requires insurers to offer discounts for homes with wind-resistant features. These credits can reduce your premium by 10–45%.

Qualifying features include:

• Hip roof (all four sides slope down to the walls)
• Roof covering that meets the Florida Building Code
• Roof deck attachment (how the plywood is nailed to the trusses)
• Opening protection — hurricane-rated windows, doors, and garage doors
• Secondary water resistance (a rubberized membrane under the roof covering)

What to do:

• Ask your agent whether you have a wind mitigation inspection on file
• If your home was built before 2002 or you've replaced your roof since your last inspection, schedule a new one — a licensed wind mitigation inspector typically charges $75–$150
• Make sure your insurer has applied all applicable credits to your current policy

If you've installed hurricane shutters, impact windows, or a new roof since your last inspection, you may be leaving significant premium savings on the table.

If a hurricane destroys your home and everything in it, your insurance company will ask you to prove what you owned. Without documentation, you'll spend months arguing over the value of items you can no longer show them.

What to do:

• Walk through every room with your phone and record a video inventory — open closets, drawers, and cabinets
• Note serial numbers for electronics, appliances, and valuables
• Store the video in cloud storage (Google Photos, iCloud, Dropbox) so it survives even if your phone and home do not
• Check whether your policy covers personal property at actual cash value (depreciated) or replacement cost value — replacement cost is significantly better and worth the small premium difference

High-value items: Jewelry, art, collectibles, and musical instruments are often subject to sub-limits under a standard policy. If you own items worth more than $1,500–$2,500 individually, ask your agent about a scheduled personal property endorsement.

If a hurricane makes your home uninhabitable, where do you go? How long can you afford to stay in a hotel or rental?

Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage — sometimes called "Loss of Use" — pays for temporary housing, meals, and other costs above your normal living expenses while your home is being repaired.

What to check:

• Your ALE limit (typically 20–30% of your dwelling coverage)
• Whether your policy has a time limit on ALE (12 months, 24 months, or unlimited)
• After a major hurricane, South Florida rental markets tighten dramatically — hotel and rental costs spike. Make sure your limit reflects realistic post-storm costs in your area

Every homeowners policy has exclusions. The ones that catch Florida homeowners off guard most often:

Mold: Most policies cover mold only if it results directly from a covered peril (like a burst pipe). Mold from long-term humidity or a slow leak is typically excluded.

Ordinance or Law: If your home is damaged and local building codes require upgrades when you rebuild (new electrical, hurricane straps, updated plumbing), your standard policy may not cover those upgrade costs. An Ordinance or Law endorsement fills this gap — especially important for homes built before 2002.

Screened enclosures and fences: Many policies have sub-limits or exclusions for screen rooms, pool enclosures, and fences. These are common hurricane losses in South Florida.

Cosmetic damage: Some newer policies exclude coverage for cosmetic damage to roofs — meaning if your roof is functional but visually damaged, the insurer may deny the claim.

This sounds obvious, but it's not. Florida's insurance market has been in turmoil. Carriers have gone insolvent, non-renewed policies, and exited the state with little notice.

What to do:

• Call your agent or log into your insurer's portal and confirm your policy is active and paid current
• If you received a non-renewal notice in the last 12 months, confirm you have replacement coverage in place
• If your carrier went insolvent and you were moved to Citizens Property Insurance, confirm your Citizens policy limits and understand Citizens' assessment surcharges

Here's a simple timeline:

This week:

• Pull your declarations page and calculate your hurricane deductible in dollars
• Confirm you have a separate flood insurance policy
• Record a video home inventory and save it to the cloud

This month:

• Call your agent to review dwelling coverage limits against current rebuild costs
• Ask about wind mitigation credits and schedule an inspection if needed
• Verify your ALE limits and personal property coverage type

Before July 1:

• Confirm your policy is active and your insurer is financially stable
• Make sure any high-value items are scheduled on your policy
• Ask your agent about Ordinance or Law coverage if your home is older

Not sure if your current coverage is enough? Our licensed South Florida agents review your existing policies — homeowners, flood, auto, and more — and identify gaps before they become claims.

The JustShield™ Protection Score is a free 8-step assessment that evaluates all your coverage in one place. It takes about 5 minutes and gives you a clear picture of where you're protected and where you're exposed.

Get your free JustShield™ Protection Score →

Or if your homeowners policy is renewing soon, our Renewal Rescue Center compares 20+ carriers in 15 minutes — at no cost, no obligation.

We're bilingual, licensed in Florida, and based in Homestead — right in the heart of South Florida. Contact us or call us directly to talk through your coverage before hurricane season gets underway.

Just Insurance Svcs is a licensed Florida insurance agency (License #L047919) serving Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute insurance advice. Coverage availability and terms vary by carrier and individual circumstances.