Hurricane Isaias and Wind Damage Claims in Florida

Nearly 55,000 Hurricane Isaias claims have been filed in Florida. Just over 3,500 have closed with payment. Nearly 8,500 claims closed without payment. About 43,000 claims are still open. These figures come from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation as of October 20, 2026.

If your claim closed without payment, or if you have not filed yet, you still have options. Start with a Free 21-Point Storm Inspection. We document the full loss and tell you plainly where your claim stands. Call 800.511.2240.

Pensacola did not take the landfall point. It still took a 102 mph gust. Our Pensacola public adjuster page is built for Escambia County owners.

The carrier’s adjuster works for the carrier

The insurance company’s adjuster represents the insurance company. A public adjuster represents you, the policyholder. That difference decides what gets documented. We inspect your property, build the full record of your loss, and present your claim to the carrier. You do not chase paperwork, return adjuster calls, or guess what your policy owes you.

Tropical cyclones have caused more than $1.5 trillion in damage

NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management counts 403 billion-dollar weather disasters in the United States since 1980, as of December 31, 2024. Tropical cyclones caused the most damage of any disaster type in that count. Tropical cyclones caused more than $1.5 trillion in total damage, with an average cost of $23 billion per event. They also caused 7,211 deaths, the highest number among the disaster types NOAA tracks. NOAA states that the costs are adjusted for inflation with the Consumer Price Index.

Those national numbers show the scale of hurricane risk. They do not decide your claim. Your claim turns on your damage, your policy, and the record presented to your carrier. One storm can also leave a Florida property with costs that reach beyond a missing shingle or a ceiling stain. The full bill can include roof work, interior repairs, damaged building systems, temporary protection, and lost income. A complete record matters because each part has to be tied to the storm and to a coverage in your policy.

Your hurricane deductible, in plain numbers

Your hurricane deductible is a percentage of the value your home is insured for. It is not a percentage of your damage. Florida law requires carriers to offer $500, 2 percent, 5 percent, or 10 percent. On a home insured for $400,000, a 2 percent deductible means the first $8,000 of covered hurricane damage comes out of your pocket. The hurricane deductible applies once per calendar year, not once per storm. Many owners get told their damage falls below the deductible. That call depends on the full damage count, not the first walk-through.

One storm can raise four separate coverage questions

A hurricane claim starts by separating wind damage from flood damage. Wind can tear off roofing, break windows, and drive rain through an opening made by the storm. Storm surge and rising water are flood. Flood coverage sits in a separate flood policy, through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood carrier. A property policy can cover the wind part of a loss while a flood policy covers the water part. That line matters when wind and water damage the same room.

The deductible trigger is the second question. Your policy may use the words hurricane, named storm, or windstorm. The wording decides when a percentage deductible applies. Another wind loss may carry a flat deductible, while a named storm loss carries the percentage deductible. Read the declarations page and the deductible endorsement together. One page can show the amount while the other page controls when it applies.

The third question is whether a sublimit controls part of the loss. A sublimit is a lower cap inside the main policy limit. It can apply to one part of the property or one category of cost. The main limit can look large while a much smaller sublimit controls the repair in front of you. Ask which limit applies before you accept a payment number.

The fourth question covers claim duties and dates. A policy may require prompt notice, protection of the property, an inventory of damaged property, records, access to the property, and a signed proof of loss if the carrier requests one. Florida law adds its own deadlines for new and supplemental hurricane claims. A flood claim also carries separate forms and deadlines. Keep the wind claim file and the flood claim file apart from day one, even when both files cover the same building.

Deadlines you cannot miss

• Report an Isaias claim by October 9, 2027.
• Reopen or add to your claim by April 9, 2028.
• PAG tracks October 9, 2031 as the outside date to sue over an Isaias claim, five years from the storm.

Do not wait on any of these dates. A late report can end a claim before it starts.

The damage a look from the ground can miss

Wind lifts shingles and breaks seals that no one can see from the ground. Water then enters for months before a stain shows on a ceiling. A roof can look fine and still be open to the next storm. That is why the inspection happens on the roof, not from the street. Hidden wind damage often shows up first as a roof leak or as water damage inside the home.

What a wind claim covers

Most property policies cover direct physical damage from a windstorm. When a roof or a wall is blown away, coverage is rarely the fight. The fight is the total cost to repair or replace the damage and make your property whole again. That number is built from documentation, not from the first look. A short first scope can leave whole rooms, roof sections, and code costs out of the claim.

What to do after storm damage

• Photograph all damage before you clean up.
• Protect the property from further damage and keep every receipt.
• Write down when the damage happened and when you found it.
• Do not sign a repair contract before you know your coverage.
• Call us before the carrier’s adjuster visits, if you can.

Commercial properties after Isaias

We also represent owners of shopping centers, apartment communities, condominium associations, and other large commercial properties. A storm claim on a commercial building carries roof systems, tenant issues, and lost income on top of the repair bill. If the property lost income while closed or under repair, see our business interruption page.

What we do on a hurricane claim

We inspect the whole property, roof to interior. We photograph and measure the damage. We read your policy and match the loss to your coverage. We prepare the claim and meet the carrier’s adjuster at your property. We follow the claim until the carrier pays what the policy owes. For residential claims, Florida caps the fee at 10% during the first year after a state of emergency declaration. And 10% of nothing is nothing. Without representation, many homeowners walk away with far less or nothing at all.

From the first call to payment

The work starts with safety and urgent protection. Stay clear of downed lines, unstable structures, and damaged electrical systems. Call emergency services when a condition puts anyone in danger. Stop active water entry when that can be done safely, secure broken openings, and use qualified help for roof work or other work that cannot be done safely. Keep receipts and dated photos for tarps, boards, pumps, and other emergency work.

We then document the property as a whole. The record covers the roof and exterior, each affected room, and the systems that serve the building. Those systems include heating and air, electrical, plumbing, windows, doors, and built-in appliances. We take wide photos that place the damage and close photos that show the condition. We take measurements, save model and serial numbers when they matter, and keep repair invoices, emergency receipts, and a dated timeline. A room count matters because damage in one room can be tied to a roof opening, a broken window, or water that moved through a wall.

The assessment also looks for damage that does not announce itself. Lifted roofing, broken seals, wet insulation, and water inside a wall can stay hidden after the surface dries. We read the declarations, endorsements, exclusions, deductible wording, limits, sublimits, and loss settlement terms with the damage record in hand. That reading shows which parts of the loss belong under the property policy, which parts belong under a flood policy, and which costs need more support.

We present the claim as a clear record, with photos, measurements, estimates, invoices, and the policy terms that apply to each part of the loss. We meet the carrier’s adjuster at the property and walk through the documented damage. If the carrier’s record leaves out a room, a roof section, or a damaged system, we put the missing item and its support back in front of the carrier in writing. You get one point of contact and a plain account of what has been sent, what the carrier has paid, and what remains open.

Follow-through does not end at the first check. We track carrier requests, open deadlines, deductibles, depreciation, and each payment. We compare each payment with the documented loss and the policy terms. If the carrier asks for more proof, we answer with records. If a payment leaves covered damage unpaid, we present the added support within the deadline to reopen or add to the claim. That is how we pursue the full amount owed under the terms and conditions of your policy.

Already filed, or already closed without payment?

A closed claim is not always a finished claim. If your Isaias claim closed without payment, or the payment did not cover the damage, the claim can be reopened or added to by April 9, 2028. Bring us the carrier’s letter and the first scope. We compare that record against a full inspection of your property and tell you plainly whether more is owed.

Nathan Sheppard has worked insurance claims for 17 years. Policyholder Advocacy Group represents homeowners and commercial property owners across Florida, including Pensacola and the western Panhandle, where Isaias hit hardest. Santa Rosa County filed more than 26,000 Isaias claims, and Escambia County filed about 17,000, out of nearly 55,000 filed statewide.

Not sure your damage is covered? Start with a Free 21-Point Storm Inspection. We document the full loss and tell you plainly whether you have a claim. Call 800.511.2240.