Learn more about your hurricane deductible and when it applies.

Download Florida's Hurricane Deductible in English or Spanish

Plan of Evacuation: Have a plan of evacuation, including a list of people to contact in the event you need to leave your home.

Home Information: List individuals to be contacted before and after evacuation (one person should be out of state). Include name, email and phone number.

List Evacuation Route Option: Establish two evacuation locations where your family will meet if you are not directed to a location by local authorities.

Medical Information: Be sure to have key medical information with you (List of medications, Health Insurance ID Cards, Record of Immunizations/Allergies, etc.) If you take prescription medications regularly, you should contact your pharmacy before a storm strikes to get prescriptions filled so that you don't run out.

Make an itemized list of your belongings: Include costs, purchase dates and serial numbers. Attach receipts, especially for "big ticket" items. Your insurance company may require proof of the cost of any item for which you make a claim. Dated photographs or videotapes of your possessions are also good ideas.

Take copies of your legal, financial and medical documents with you: This should include bank statements, insurance policies, mortgage information, credit card addresses and toll-free phone numbers, wills, birth certificates, passports and medical prescriptions.

Know Your Insurers: Write down the names of your agent and agency, your insurance company, your policy number and telephone numbers to report claims. Remember that the name of your insurance company might differ from that of your agent, agency or underwriter.

Do you have enough cash? Remember to withdraw money before a pending disaster. Since carrying or keeping large amounts of cash in your home can be unsafe, take out only as much as you'll need. Financial institutions usually close for at least two days after a direct hit by a hurricane, and ATMs could be out of commission even longer. Be sure to get receipts for cash purchases right before a storm.

Do you have enough credit? Keep and protect a credit card with an available balance of at least $1,000. Use credit cards to finance minimal repairs when necessary. Document all transactions.

Paying bills: If you pay bills by phone or online, try to pay them before a disaster hits, even if they are not yet due. Hurricanes and wildfires could interrupt phone service, causing you to miss payments and incur late charges. If you pay by mail, send payments as soon as possible. The U.S. Postal Service will not pick up mail within 24 hours of a hurricane strike. Keep copies of all payments mailed within three days of a natural disaster, if possible. After a storm, contact those you've sent payments to and confirm they have received them.

How can you safeguard your records? Keep insurance and financial papers in a secure and accessible place like a safe deposit box, or with a relative or friend. Include your insurance policy, inventory records, agent or company telephone numbers for reporting claims, mortgage and other loan contracts and payment records. You might need quick access to this information. If you need to evacuate, take records with you.

Make a pet plan: Inquire in advance how and where you can leave your pets. Specialized pet shelters, animal control shelters, veterinary clinics and friends and relatives out of harm's way are ALL potential refuges for your pet during a disaster. Prepare for Emergencies Now: Information for Pet Owners can be found at: Ready.gov

Additional Resources

• Legal and Financial Document Checklist

• Homeowners Toolkit English, Spanish

• Develop a Disaster Plan

• Create a Disaster Supply Kit

• Make a Pet Plan

• What to Do Before a Flood
  

Are outside plate glass windows covered on a commercial building?

If a Comprehensive Glass Insurance policy/endorsement was purchased, they are covered. However, there may be certain conditions which must be met for coverage to apply. Such as, a requirement to have hurricane shutters or the use of a specific grade of plywood to cover them at specified times.

Is there wind coverage for the inventory of new/used vehicles located at a dealership? Also, if employee's vehicles are located on the lot during a windstorm are they covered by the dealerships policy?

The inventory of vehicles for sale should be covered if the automobile physical damage coverage is purchased. The cause of loss may be specified in the policy. Such coverage is sometimes known as “Dealers Open Lot” and may protect against theft, vandalism, fire and other types of perils.

The damage to the employees’ vehicles would be covered by their own individual policies, if they have purchased physical damage coverages.

If the dealer has purchased garage keeper’s liability insurance, then the customers cars which are in their care, custody and control while being repaired, serviced or held in storage, then these vehicles would be covered. The perils may be specified in the policies. 

Is a satellite dish providing service to hotel rooms covered if damaged by a windstorm?

If wind is not an excluded peril and there is no specified exclusion, then coverage will exist. 

We own a restaurant and lost all the food in our freezers due to a power outage from a storm. We were unable to open for three days but we paid our employees so they would not look for other work. Will Business Interruption (BI) coverage pay for my loss?

Food spoilage is not generally covered in a commercial property policy unless coverage is specifically purchased. BI coverage may cover your loss of income and other business expenses such as employee wages while the business is closed. Perils like flooding, earthquakes, mudslides, viral outbreaks and pandemics are generally excluded. Coverage for some of these can be purchased by endorsement or via a separate policy.

Often an Extra Expense coverage is also purchased in conjunction with BI. This covers extra expenses incurred by the business to allow them to continue their operations, such as cost of moving and setting up a temporary location.  

Essentially, the BI coverage is intended to pay for normal continuing business operating expenses, while the Extra Expense coverage pays for costs that are incurred beyond the normal operating expenses. 

Sometimes the policies will show separate limits for Business Interruption, Extra Expense and Loss of Income. 

We closed our hotel for 4 days because of the impending hurricane.  At the last minute the hurricane shifted and we were not affected.  Will the Business Interruption policy cover our loss of income? 

Generally, there is no coverage for loss of income that did not result from direct physical damage to insured property.

Civil authorities closed access to our business because of downed electric wires on the roads.  We had to temporarily shut down our business.  Do we have coverage for this?

Most Business Interruption policies contain coverage for loss incurred due to orders issued by the civil authorities. The time duration may be limited, and certain criteria may need to be met such as, complete prohibition of the access to the insured premises, close proximity of physical damage to the insured premises, damage caused by a peril covered in the policy. 

Is Business Interruption coverage always provided under a Business Owners Policy (BOP) and a Commercial Package Policy (CPP)?

Business Interruption coverage is not a mandatory coverage under the Florida laws. Therefore, it will depend upon the company's policy forms filed with the Office of Insurance Regulation. Business Interruption coverage may be provided under both the BOP and CPP.  

Does a Builder's Risk policy cover damage from wind and rain?

Builder's risk policies are named peril policies. Rain is not a named peril in the contract. However, there could be limited coverage for materials located at the job site damaged by rain, if included by endorsement. Wind damage should be covered by the policy, subject to other contractual provisions. Some policies require the construction to be at a certain stage, i.e. 50% or 75% of completion before coverage applies for wind.  

I sell fireworks. Why are the companies refusing to insure my business? What are my options? 

Most companies underwrite the types of risks where they can pool a large number of similar risks together. This is called “risk sharing” or “risk distribution”. The responsibility of payment of the loss of a single member is shared by all other participants of the pool.  The companies who underwrite such pools of businesses are known as “admitted’ or “authorized’ insurers.  They must obtain a certificate of authority from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR) and only use rates and policy forms that are approved by the FLOIR. 

If the nature of the risk is unusual or high hazard, these companies may be unwilling or unable underwrite it. When this occurs, the Surplus Lines (SL) companies can step in to provide the protection needed,

The SL companies must obtain a letter of eligibility from the FLOIR. The rates and forms are not approved by the FLOIR. This allows the SL companies flexibility to tailor the coverages and rates according to the unique characteristics of the risk presented. 

A list of SL companies can be found at  FLOIR SL Company Search.

Webpage view: Commercial Insurance Coverage Disaster FAQs

Being prepared can mean staying in business after a disaster.

Additional Resources

• OPEN for Business-EZ Toolkit (disastersafety.org)

• Small Business Administration (SBA)

• Disaster Assistance for Businesses of All Sizes

• Develop a Disaster Plan

• FEMA - Protect Your Business from Disaster

• Ready Business (ready.gov)

• FDIC - Small Business Hotline and Website