The Atlantic hurricane season is entering its peak this month.
For Florida, that means we typically see the most hurricanes between August and October. Of course, hurricane season means more potential for flooding, rain and wind damage.
Just one inch of standing water in your home could cost about $25,000 to repair, which is why flood insurance exists. But if you’re a homeowner without homeowners or flood insurance during hurricane season, it might be too late to find coverage.
Although Florida hasn’t been hit by a hurricane yet this season, there’s currently a tropical system heading for Florida’s Gulf Coast and it’s expected to develop into a tropical storm over the next day or so, as of Friday, Aug. 2.
“Downpours and gusty thunderstorms will spread westward across Cuba and the western islands of the Bahamas on Friday before spreading over the Florida Keys and the southern part of the Florida Peninsula on Saturday (Aug. 3),” according to The Pensacola News Journal and Accuweather. “Along with the potential for urban flooding will be the risk of waterspouts and hazards for beach and boating interests, at the very least.”
Here’s how flood insurance works in Florida, when and where to find a policy and why a lot of Floridians don’t storm prep and ignore evacuation orders, according to an AAA survey.
Is there a hurricane or tropical storm headed for Florida?
The National Hurricane Center has issued its first advisory on Potential Tropical Cyclone Four.
Tropical storm watches and warnings have been issued for portions of Florida ahead of a possible landfall as Tropical Storm Debby along Florida’s West Coast over the weekend.
What was originally known as Invest 97L currently is located over eastern Cuba, about 420 miles southeast of Key West, according to the 11 a.m. advisory.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Thursday declared a state of emergency for 54 of Florida’s 67 counties ahead of the storm.
“Keep in mind the tropical cyclone will be strengthening as it moves north, so the farther north it gets before landfall, the better of a shot that it has to attain hurricane status,” said the National Weather Service Tallahassee.
If sustained winds reach 39 mph, it would become Tropical Storm Debby, the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.
What happens if my home floods and I don’t have flood insurance?
Since just an inch of water in your home could cost up to $25,000 or more to fix, what happens if you don’t have flood insurance?
Homeowners who don’t have flood insurance have the option to apply for federal disaster assistance through a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration. But unlike payouts from insurance claims, the federal disaster assistance loans have to be paid back.
What happens if I get flood insurance and my home floods the next day?
According to a AAA survey, 53% of the people surveyed were unaware that flood insurance policies issued through FEMA do not take immediate effect. FEMA manages the National Flood Insurance Program, which manages a network of more than 50 insurance companies, including AAA.
All flood insurance policies issued through FEMA’s network of insurance companies have a 30-day waiting period before they take effect.
Flood insurance is sold separately from homeowners’ hurricane wind insurance policies.
Can you get homeowners’ insurance in Florida during hurricane season?
There are certain times when buying homeowners’ insurance isn’t possible in Florida. You can sometimes buy homeowners’ insurance during hurricane season, but not always. When insurance companies issue a policy, they’re hoping you won’t have to file a claim. The likelier it is that you will file a claim for storm damages, the warier they are of issuing policies.
This is why most insurance companies don’t sell homeowners’ insurance 24 hours to 48 hours before a storm is anticipated to hit the state. Rules around when you can and can’t buy homeowners’ insurance vary depending on which insurance provider you buy from, but is usually difficult to acquire during hurricane season no matter who you insure with.
Why do some people ignore hurricane evacuation orders?
Last year, the peak of hurricane season followed extremely high, record-breaking ocean temperatures off Florida’s coast and an above-average August for tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic basin. August 2023 brought six named storms with it, well above the three-to-four storm average that Florida saw each August from 1991 to 2020.
During the 2023 hurricane season, AAA released a survey that asked Floridians how likely they are to evacuate their homes during a hurricane. More than half of the people surveyed said they won’t go unless the storm is a Category 3 or higher.
About 20% of the Floridians surveyed said that they don’t prepare in advance for hurricane season, and 24% said they simply wouldn’t evacuate in the event of a hurricane or severe weather.
Almost 60% of those surveyed said that they feel safe because they aren’t located in a flood zone, but the AAA survey found almost 40% of all flood insurance claims came from homes that weren’t in high-risk flood zones.
- 40% said that they stay to take care of any fixable damage to their home.
- 30% said they don’t have a safe way to evacuate with their pets.
- 22% stay because they believe the storm will turn off course and away from their direction.
- 18% don’t know where to evacuate to.
- 17% fear post-storm looting.
- 15% can’t afford to book a hotel.
Does Florida have mandatory evacuation laws?
In almost every state, the governor has the power to take action ahead of or during a disaster, like a hurricane. In some states, like Florida, the governor can order mandatory evacuations.
There is no evidence to support that anyone has ever been ticketed for ignoring evacuation orders in Florida, unlike North Carolina, where violating an evacuation order is a crime. Florida doesn’t have any sort of criminal penalty for ignoring a mandatory evacuation order.
