The time to examine your insurance policy and get your house ready for the 2025 hurricane season is now if you own a home in Florida.
The Atlantic hurricane season peaks on September 10 and lasts from June 1 to November 30. You risk losing thousands of dollars if your home is damaged in a storm if you don’t find out about any coverage gaps in your home insurance policy until a major hurricane is headed straight for Florida.
Until they are informed that a storm is approaching, even people who are aware of their policy’s coverage and how it operates might not think to take “before” photos of their house and belongings.
Here are some proactive measures you can take right now to guarantee that, in the event that a storm damages your home or property this hurricane season, you get the maximum insurance claim.
Before a hurricane hits, should I snap photos of my house?
There is one often-overlooked hurricane preparation step that might save you a lot of money in addition to the obvious ways to physically prepare your property for any anticipated damage – boarding up windows, having sandbags, securing patio furniture, etc.
You can better grasp what expenses you are liable for in the event that your home is damaged by being familiar with a few important items in your house and your flood insurance coverage. It may be considerably simpler to file a claim after the storm if you take pictures of your house and your most important items while they are still in good shape.
What kind of hurricane insurance is required?
Your house insurance policy’s “exclusions” section lists particular kinds of damage that are not covered.
You don’t want to be unaware of any coverage gaps in your policy in the event of a calamity. For instance, you might not be aware that home and flood insurance are usually offered separately if you’re a first-time homeowner. Flooding-related damages are typically not covered by home insurance policies.
Reread the “Exclusions” and “Duties After Loss” parts of your home or flood insurance policies to become familiar with what your policy or policies do and do not cover, as well as any fees you may be liable for covering following the storm.
severe winds, including hurricane-related severe winds, are typically covered by homeowners’ insurance plans. However, there may be a different deductible for hurricane damage under your coverage.
What to record for insurance today during hurricane season in 2025
Don’t wait to discover the value of your possessions until they are gone. Your insurance provider will likely inquire whether you have any records of the state of your house or property before to the storm if they need to evaluate any damage that has occurred after the storm.
The amount of compensation you receive for damages will probably depend on whether you can provide your insurance with that information.
Take a long, slow movie of your house and property using your phone’s camera before the tropics become busy for the season to capture what it looks like when everything is in its correct position. Additionally, take pictures of your house and property.
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When planning to evacuate or hunker down for a hurricane, there is one less item to worry about if you can do it before a named storm approaches Florida.
Make a complete inventory of your valuables and attach receipts for more costly items like electronics, furniture, and appliances if you want to be extra thorough. In order to demonstrate that these objects were undamaged before to the storm, you would wish to at least take images of them.
During hurricane season, make a digital backup of your most crucial documents.
Your most vital documents, such as those pertaining to your home or flood insurance policy, should not be kept on paper.
The majority of Floridians are aware that they should store their insurance policies, family medical records, wills, deeds, and other critical documents in a safe deposit box or a waterproof, fireproof box. However, in an emergency, it may be difficult to obtain those hard copies.
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You may access your insurance policies and other vital papers as long as you have Wi-Fi or cell service by scanning them and uploading them to a cloud storage service like Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox.
You’ll have one less thing to worry about when a storm is coming if you take this action before the hurricane season starts to heat up.
Is it possible to obtain insurance just before a storm?
In Florida, purchasing homeowners’ insurance can be nearly difficult at times. It’s not always possible to purchase homeowners insurance during hurricane season. Insurance companies hope you won’t need to make a claim when they provide a policy. They are less likely to issue you an insurance if you are likely to make a claim for storm-related damages.
For this reason, the majority of insurance firms do not offer homeowners’ insurance 24 to 48 hours prior to the state’s expected storm.
Depending on the insurance company you select, there are different rules about when you can and cannot purchase homeowners’ insurance. However, regardless of your current insurance provider, it is typically exceedingly difficult to obtain a new policy during Florida’s hurricane season.
