How long you have to report a hurricane claim in Florida

The clock on a hurricane claim starts the day the storm made landfall.

Florida law bars a property insurance claim unless you give your insurer notice within one year of the date of loss, and bars a supplemental claim after 18 months. For a hurricane, the date of loss is the day the storm made landfall — not the day you found the damage. Condo loss assessments follow a separate rule.

Why the date you noticed the damage is not the date that counts

Hurricane season runs through November 30, and the damage a storm leaves behind does not all appear at once. A roof that took wind in September can show up as a stain on a ceiling in February. A building can look untouched until the association's engineer walks it.

The instinct is to count from the day you found the problem. The statute counts from the day the storm arrived. For a hurricane, section 627.70132(3) fixes the date of loss as the date the hurricane made landfall. For a tornado, windstorm, severe rain or other weather event, it is the date the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration verifies the event.

That single sentence is what turns a claim people thought was early into a claim that is late.

Three deadlines, not one

The claim, and the reopened claim: one year

A claim, or a claim you closed and want reopened, is barred unless notice reached the insurer within one year after the date of loss, in the way your policy requires. That is section 627.70132(2).

"Notice in accordance with the terms of the policy" is doing work in that sentence. Your contract says how notice is given. A voicemail to an agent is not always the same thing as notice to the insurer.

The supplemental claim: 18 months

A supplemental claim is a claim for more money on a loss the insurer already adjusted — the same peril, the same event, a number that turned out to be too low. Those get 18 months after the date of loss.

This is the deadline that catches people who did everything right. You reported on time. An adjuster came. A number was agreed. Then the contractor opened a wall.

The condo loss assessment: its own rule

If you own a unit, your association can levy an assessment on you to cover a loss to the common elements. Loss assessment coverage on your own policy is what responds to that, and Florida requires it be offered at a minimum of $2,000 for all assessments from the same direct loss, with a deductible of no more than $250 — and no deductible at all if one already applied to your own damage from the same event. That is section 627.714.

The association often votes that assessment long after the storm. So the deadline is built differently. Under section 627.70132(4)(a), notice of a loss assessment claim must be given by the later of one year after the date of loss, or 90 days after the date the association or its board votes to levy the assessment — and in no case later than three years after the date of loss.

Read that twice, because it cuts both ways. If your board votes 14 months after the storm, you are not too late: you have 90 days from the vote. If your board votes at the three-year mark, the outer bar has closed regardless.

Here, the date of loss is the date of the covered loss event that created the need for the assessment.

What this deadline does not do

Reporting on time is not the same as being paid. Meeting the deadline keeps the door open; it decides nothing about coverage. A claim reported on day one can still be denied because the cause is excluded, because the damage is below the hurricane deductible, or because the policy never covered that part of the building in the first place.

The deadline also does not apply to every policy you own:

• Flood. If your flood coverage is an NFIP policy, that is a federal contract with its own rules. The Standard Flood Insurance Policy requires a signed and sworn proof of loss within 60 days of the loss, and FEMA has extended that by written waiver after major events. It does not run on Florida's one-year clock. Flood insurance runs on federal rules, and the difference between flood and water damage is where most denied claims are actually decided.
• Liability and auto. Different statutes, different clocks. This article is about property insurance.

And it does not override your policy. Almost every policy requires prompt notice, separately from the statute. "I still had eleven months" is not an answer to a contract that asked for notice as soon as practicable.

What the law actually says

• Claim or reopened claim: 1 year, from the date of loss.
• Supplemental claim: 18 months, from the date of loss.
• Condo loss assessment: the later of 1 year from the loss, or 90 days from the vote — never past 3 years from the date of loss.
• Date of loss for a hurricane: the date the hurricane made landfall.
• Date of loss for other weather: the date NOAA verifies the event.

Source: Fla. Stat. §§ 627.70132 and 627.714.

Questions we get about this

What is the date of loss if the hurricane never made landfall in Miami?

The statute ties the date to landfall for a hurricane. For a storm that stayed offshore and still did damage — a windstorm or severe rain event — the date is the one NOAA verifies. Which category your event falls into is a question worth asking before you assume the clock started later than it did.

I reported on time but the adjuster missed damage. Is that a new claim?

It is usually a supplemental claim, and supplemental claims are barred after 18 months from the date of loss. It is not a fresh one-year window.

My association voted the assessment 14 months after the storm. Is that too late?

Not on its own. You have 90 days from the date of the vote, as long as you are still inside three years from the date of loss. The number to write down is the date of the vote.

Does the one-year rule apply to my flood policy?

Not if your flood coverage is written through the NFIP. That is a federal policy with its own notice and proof-of-loss requirements.

If I report in time, does the insurer have to pay?

No. The deadline governs whether your claim can be considered, not whether it is covered. Coverage is a separate question, answered by the policy, how the hurricane deductible works, and — for a unit — where your condo policy has to start.

If you are not sure which clock you are on

The date is worth confirming while you still have room to act. We Insure Downtown Miami reads the policy and the dates with you: what your contract says about notice, which deadline the damage falls under, and — if you own a unit — whether your loss assessment coverage is there at all. See how homeowners and condo insurance work in Miami, or start with a condo policy review or high-rise and condo coverage.

Have my coverage reviewed

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This article describes how Florida statutes generally work. It is not advice about your policy, and reading it is not a substitute for someone reading your documents. What your contract says is a separate question with a different answer.

Sources: Fla. Stat. § 627.70132 (notice of property insurance claim) · Fla. Stat. § 627.714 (loss assessment coverage) · FEMA, Standard Flood Insurance Policy.