Florida’s insurance market has been in turmoil in recent years with many companies dropping the state altogether.
Hurricane Milton, which ripped across Florida on Wednesday, likely caused damage to some properties that could also be dealing with damage from Hurricane Helene, which made landfall Sept. 26.
Mark Friedlander, spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute, said even with the ongoing claims from Helene, Florida’s property insurance market is “well-capitalized to act as a financial first responder to all of its customers that may incur impacts from Hurricane Milton.”
“The Florida property insurance market is in a much more stable financial position and is adequately capitalized to pay storm claims. There's no concern about companies being in a precarious financial position, which was the case in past years,” he said. “The stability is continuing to improve.”
Friedlander said that’s important as he expects a higher volume of losses for property insurers after Milton, compared with Helene and April's Hurricane Debby.
Estimated insured losses is more than $902 million due to Helene and more than $130 million for Debby, according to the most recent data available from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.
Multiple storms equal multiple claims
Floridians who sustain damage to their homes in Milton will need to file a separate claim if they also incurred damage from Helene.
“What's important is that you have carefully documented the damage from Helene, because Milton would need to be a separate claim. They are not combined in any shape or fashion. Each storm has to be filed as a separate claim,” said Friedlander.
He says he understands some people may be fearful to file a claim out of concern over possibly being dropped or increased premiums, but he says insurance is there for times like these.
“At this point, I wouldn't be overly concerned about what the future is, you want to take care of the present. That's the true focus right now. You need to take care of the current situation so you can recover as quickly as possible from the most recent storms,” he said. “And potentially there might be some adjustments to your policy in the future, but nobody has a crystal ball as to what that may look like.”
Preparing for the storm
Once storm watches and warnings have been issued, Friedlander said no changes or additions can be made to property insurance coverage.
“So you can't change your property insurance. You can't change your auto insurance. You can't change your flood insurance. You have to live with the policies you currently have in place,” he said.
Even though changes can’t be made right before the storm, Friedlander said there are things you can do to make the claims filing process easier after the storm.
“The one big preparedness tip we have is to make sure you have a very detailed home inventory that includes, not only a list of everything you have within your home, but also photos of all your possessions,” he said.
Friedlander also recommends downloading your insurance company’s app to your cellphone to make the claims filing process easier.
If the damage to your home is caused by flooding and you don’t have flood insurance, Friedlander says finding the funds for all necessary repairs can get expensive.
“You may be eligible for a FEMA emergency grant, although those grants are not a replacement for flood insurance; that's the important takeaway here,” he said. “They'll give you some funds to help start your recovery, but they're not insurance.”
In addition, Friedlander said there may be Small Business Administration loans available.
“But it's just so important to be fully financially protected from hurricanes striking Florida to have flood insurance in addition to property insurance. It makes it really difficult to recover without that full financial blanket of protection.”
More than 80 percent of Florida homeowners don’t have flood insurance.
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