The insurance half of storm season preparation

Storm season plans tend to focus on the physical: shutters, supplies, an evacuation route. The insurance side gets less attention, and it is the part that determines how quickly you recover afterward.

Know your hurricane deductible as a dollar figure

Florida policies carry a separate hurricane deductible, usually a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat amount. Two percent on a six hundred thousand dollar dwelling limit is twelve thousand dollars.

Most homeowners know the percentage and have never converted it. Do the arithmetic now, while it is abstract, rather than after a claim when it is not.

Document the house before anything happens

Walk through with your phone and record every room, open the closets and cabinets, and photograph the exterior from several angles. Include the roof if you can do it safely from the ground.

This takes twenty minutes and is worth more than any other single preparation step. After a loss, proving what you had is often harder than proving it was damaged. Store the file somewhere that survives the house, meaning cloud storage rather than a drawer.

Know what is not covered

Flood is not covered by a homeowners policy. Storm surge is flood. This is the single most consequential gap after a Florida storm, and every season it surprises people who assumed hurricane coverage meant all hurricane damage.

If you do not carry flood coverage, know that before the storm rather than during the claim.

Keep your policy reachable

Keep a copy of your declarations page and your agency's phone number somewhere you can reach without power or a working home. A photo on your phone is enough.

Where to start

The home inventory is the highest value item on this list and the one most people skip. Do that first. Everything else on the list takes minutes once it is done.

Related: wind or flood, which policy pays, Florida flood insurance, and reporting a claim.