For a hurricane, the notice clock starts at landfall. Under section 627.70132, Florida Statutes, policies issued or renewed after December 16, 2022 require original or reopened notice within 1 year after the date of loss and supplemental notice within 18 months after the date of loss. Earlier policies have longer periods. These are outer limits. Your policy also requires prompt notice, and discovery, closure, denial, payment and repairs do not restart the clock.
Damage from Hurricane Isaias? Start here. Read the Hurricane Isaias claim guide.
Reporting the claim and suing on it are two different acts with two different deadlines. If the insurer denies or underpays a timely claim, you have 5 years from the date of loss to file a breach-of-contract lawsuit under section 95.11(2)(e), Florida Statutes, and before filing, section 627.70152 requires a pre-suit notice of intent to litigate served at least 10 business days ahead. Claim-notice and property-policy suit periods run from loss, not later discovery. The notice of intent must be served within the section 95.11 period and at least 10 business days before suit. Section 627.70152 provides limited tolling. Insurer-response periods have separate triggers. Enter the date of loss into the insurance claim deadline calculator as a starting point, then confirm the policy version and applicable exceptions.
Findings Summary
- For policies issued or renewed after December 16, 2022, give original or reopened notice within 1 year after the date of loss under Fla. Stat. § 627.70132.
- For policies issued or renewed after December 16, 2022, give supplemental notice within 18 months after the date of loss under Fla. Stat. § 627.70132.
- Lawsuit on the policy: 5 years from the date of loss. Fla. Stat. § 95.11(2)(e). Pre-suit notice required first under § 627.70152.
- Claim-notice and property-policy suit periods run from loss, not discovery. Insurer-response and presuit clocks use separate triggers.
- Hurricane Helene (September 26, 2024): notice window closed September 26, 2025; supplemental window closed March 26, 2026; the suit deadline for timely-reported claims is September 26, 2029.
- Hurricane Milton (October 9, 2024): notice window closed October 9, 2025; supplemental window closed April 9, 2026; the suit deadline for timely-reported claims is October 9, 2029.
- NFIP flood claims follow federal rules (a 60-day sworn proof of loss and a 1-year suit deadline from the first written denial), not the Florida statutes above.
What Section 627.70132 Actually Requires
The statute requires that notice of the claim be given to the insurer “in accordance with the terms of the policy” within the window. Notice means telling your insurance company a loss occurred: by phone, through the carrier’s claims portal, or in writing. Do not delay the initial report while arranging a contractor or completing an inventory. The statute does not itself demand an estimate, but policy notice terms and differing appellate language require review. A bare representation letter may be insufficient.
Check when the policy in force on the date of loss was issued or renewed. For July 1, 2021 through December 16, 2022 policies, notice is generally required within 2 years after the date of loss for original or reopened claims and within 3 years for supplemental claims. Annual policies covering Hurricane Ian fall in that period. For June 1, 2011 through June 30, 2021 policies, notice was generally required within 3 years after the hurricane first made landfall or the windstorm caused damage. That older law covered only those perils. Current law covers homeowners, unit-owner, association, commercial and surplus-lines property policies.
Original, Reopened, and Supplemental Claims: Three Types, Two Deadlines
Section 627.70132 defines reopened and supplemental claims. This table gives notice periods for policies issued or renewed after December 16, 2022.
| Claim type | What it means | Notice deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Original claim | Your first notice to the insurer that the storm caused a loss | 1 year after the date of loss |
| Reopened claim | A claim the insurer closed, reopened at your request for additional costs on damage you already disclosed | 1 year from date of loss |
| Supplemental claim | Additional loss or damage from the same peril previously adjusted, or costs incurred completing repairs or replacement under an open, timely noticed claim | 18 months from date of loss |
The repair-cost definition requires an open claim reported on time. Calling an unreported loss supplemental does not extend its deadline. The law does not clearly classify higher estimates on open claims, new damage after closure, holdbacks or requests to reconsider a denial. Under current rules, the safe limit is within 1 year after the date of loss. Give written notice promptly and get advice. A claim reported on time can remain disputed after its notice period ends.
Worked Examples: Helene and Milton
The National Hurricane Center reports place Helene near Perry on September 26, 2024 and Milton on Siesta Key on October 9, 2024. The reports list landfall times in UTC. These are the Florida dates. Annual policies in force for those storms were issued or renewed after December 16, 2022, so the current notice periods apply.
| Deadline | Helene (loss 9/26/2024) | Milton (loss 10/9/2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Original or reopened notice (1 year) | September 26, 2025 (closed) | October 9, 2025 (closed) |
| Supplemental notice (18 months) | March 26, 2026 (closed) | April 9, 2026 (closed) |
| Lawsuit on the policy (5 years) | September 26, 2029 (open) | October 9, 2029 (open) |
The usual notice periods for Helene and Milton, 1 year and 18 months after the date of loss, have closed. A claim reported on time can still support a suit within 5 years after the date of loss under section 95.11(2)(e). Later storm effects at your property do not change the date of loss. Presuit procedures under section 627.70152 can pause the deadline to sue. NFIP flood claims have federal deadlines.
Older storms carried older rules. Hurricane Ian first made Florida landfall at the Dry Tortugas at 10 p.m. EDT on September 27, 2022. Its mainland landfalls followed the next day. The original and reopened notice period ended September 27, 2024, 2 years after the date of loss. The supplemental period ended September 27, 2025, 3 years after the date of loss. For claims reported on time, the deadline to sue under section 95.11(2)(e) is September 27, 2027. Courts have not resolved which landfall controls, so this article uses the earlier Florida date.
The Clock Runs From the Date of Loss: Not the Date You Find the Damage
Finding roof damage months after a hurricane does not restart notice time. Section 627.70132(3) uses the hurricane landfall date. For other weather events, it uses the date the event is verified by NOAA. Keep photographs, weather records and inspection reports. Report damage promptly even when the first estimate looks below the deductible. The guide to how Florida hurricane deductibles are calculated explains the policy calculation.
A contractor saying you have years to report may be confusing notice with suit. Hurricane Ian’s 3-year supplemental notice period has closed. Under current section 627.70132, original or reopened notice must be given within 1 year after the date of loss. Check the policy covering your loss rather than relying on a remembered number.
One boundary note: this article covers claims against your insurer. If your damage traces to a contractor’s defective work (a roof that failed because it was installed wrong, not because of wind), that is a claim against the builder or contractor, on different deadlines. Start with our construction defects practice instead.
Reporting a Claim Is Not Filing a Lawsuit
Giving notice preserves the claim. Suing enforces it. Under section 95.11(2)(e), an action for breach of a property insurance contract must be filed within 5 years running from the date of loss: this is the statute of limitations, the outer limit for going to court. Before suit, section 627.70152 requires a notice of intent to initiate litigation served through the Department of Financial Services at least 10 business days before filing, giving the insurer a window to respond. Under subsection (4)(b), insurer-required appraisal or alternative dispute resolution pauses the deadline to sue under section 95.11 if it would expire during that process. This does not extend claim-notice periods.
In practice, the 5-year window is where denied claims and underpaid claims get resolved. We wrote a separate guide on suing your homeowners insurance company in Florida that walks through the pre-suit sequence step by step.
Once You Give Notice, the Insurer Is on Its Own Clock
Your deadline to report is matched by the insurer’s deadlines to act. For residential claims, section 627.70131 requires the insurer to acknowledge your claim within 7 days, begin its investigation within 7 days of receiving your proof-of-loss statement, conduct any physical inspection within 30 days of that statement, and pay or deny the claim within 60 days of notice. Our guide to how long the insurance company has to pay in Florida covers each step, and our insurer response timeline checker tells you which of those deadlines your carrier has already missed. A silent claim file can be measured against those deadlines.
The Flood Exception: NFIP Deadlines Are Federal
If your flood policy comes through the National Flood Insurance Program, none of the Florida deadlines above apply. The standard flood policy requires a signed, sworn proof of loss (an itemized statement of the damage, under oath) within 60 days of the loss, and FEMA sometimes extends that deadline after major storms by written bulletin. If the claim is denied, suit must be filed in federal court within 1 year of the first written denial. Hurricane damage frequently involves both wind and water, which means two policies, two sets of deadlines, and an allocation fight; our article on wind versus flood damage claim disputes explains how that works, and our flood insurance claim practice handles the NFIP side.
Check Your Dates, Then Act on the Shortest One
Every hurricane claim reduces to a handful of dates, and the analysis starts by writing them down: date of loss, date of notice, date of the insurer’s last payment or denial. Run them through the deadline calculator. If a window is still open, the safest move is to act inside it now rather than near its edge.
If your window has closed on paper but you believe a claim was opened (by you, a public adjuster, or a contractor acting on your behalf), that is worth checking before you conclude anything. We review the claim file, the notice dates, and the carrier’s estimate line by line as part of our property insurance claims practice, and we handle hurricane damage claims across Tampa Bay, from St. Petersburg down the coast to Venice. Consultations are free, and some of these matters may be accepted on contingency: send us your dates and we will tell you what is still open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the one-year deadline mean my whole claim has to be finished within a year?
No. Fla. Stat. 627.70132 sets a notice deadline, not a deadline to finish adjusting a claim. For policies issued or renewed after December 16, 2022, original or reopened notice must be given within 1 year after the date of loss. Your policy also requires prompt notice. A claim reported on time can remain disputed afterward. Suit must be filed within 5 years after the date of loss under section 95.11(2)(e), subject to the presuit requirements and extensions in section 627.70152.
What counts as the date of loss for a hurricane claim?
For hurricane claims, Fla. Stat. 627.70132(3) uses landfall, not when damage reached your property or was discovered. This article uses the first Florida landfall in the NHC report, converted from UTC to Florida time: Ian September 27, 2022, Helene September 26, 2024 and Milton October 9, 2024. Courts have not resolved competing landfall dates. This page uses the earlier Florida date for both notice and suit.
What is the difference between a reopened claim and a supplemental claim?
When the insurer closes a claim, a request for additional costs for damage already reported is a reopened claim. A supplemental claim concerns additional loss or damage from the same peril the insurer already adjusted, or costs incurred completing repairs under an open claim reported on time. Fla. Stat. 627.70132 requires notice within 1 year and within 18 months after the date of loss, respectively, for policies issued or renewed after December 16, 2022. For Hurricane Ian, the periods were 2 years and 3 years after the date of loss. Both have passed.
What happens if I missed the one-year notice deadline?
Late notice bars the claim under Fla. Stat. 627.70132. Before concluding notice was late, check the policy dates, the landfall record and earlier reports to the insurer. Subsections (2) and (4) provide separate rules for a named insured's combat deployment and condominium unit-owner loss assessments. Discovery does not restart the clock. An original claim reported on time can remain disputed after its notice period ends. NFIP flood claims follow federal deadlines.
Do Florida's hurricane claim deadlines apply to NFIP flood claims?
No. NFIP flood policies are federal contracts, and Fla. Stat. 627.70132 does not apply to them. The standard flood policy requires a signed, sworn proof of loss within 60 days of the loss (FEMA sometimes extends that deadline by bulletin after major storms) and any lawsuit must be filed in federal court within 1 year of the date the insurer first denied any part of the claim in writing.
I reported on time but the insurer underpaid me. How long do I have to sue?
A lawsuit on a claim reported on time must be filed within 5 years after the date of loss under Fla. Stat. 95.11(2)(e). Section 627.70152 requires a notice of intent at least 10 business days before suit. Its subsection (4)(b) pauses an expiring lawsuit deadline during insurer-required appraisal or alternative dispute resolution. The law does not clearly classify a higher estimate on an open claim. The safe limit is written notice promptly, within 1 year after the date of loss under current rules. Have the estimate and reporting history reviewed.
What deadlines still apply to Hurricane Ian claims?
Hurricane Ian's notice periods have passed. Its first Florida landfall was at the Dry Tortugas on September 27, 2022, converting the NHC report from UTC to Florida time. Original and reopened notice was required within 2 years after the date of loss, and supplemental notice within 3 years. For a claim reported on time, the deadline to sue under section 95.11(2)(e) is September 27, 2027, subject to presuit procedures and applicable extensions.