Hurricane Preparation Checklist for Tampa Bay Homeowners

Make a video record of your home while it’s safe, pull your declarations page and hurricane deductible, and check your county’s evacuation instructions. Don’t let an inventory delay an evacuation. Use the checklist below to put your photographs, policy and departure plan within reach.

Is my home in an evacuation zone?

Check your address in the current evacuation map, then read your county’s orders and shelter notices. The Florida Division of Emergency Management directs residents to follow local evacuation orders. Evacuation zones and insurance flood zones serve different purposes. A listed shelter isn’t necessarily open, so confirm its status before traveling.

1. Save your zone, destination and route where you can read them without service.
2. Check the county’s medical-needs program and transportation arrangements before you need them.
3. Confirm pet arrangements, medications, charging needs and what the shelter permits.
4. Share the plan with someone outside the affected area.

Keep a paper copy of your plan with your keys. County instructions can change, so return to the official page before leaving. Pasco’s guide explains shelter planning, while local announcements identify openings. Don’t rely on an old screenshot that names a shelter.

What should I photograph or video before the storm?

Record the home’s existing condition and the belongings you’d need to identify after a loss. The Florida Department of Financial Services recommends an inventory with photographs, video, serial numbers and receipts. Begin with the rooms and items you can safely document, then add detail while conditions permit. Don’t delay an evacuation to finish.

1. Film every room slowly, opening closets and cabinets without handling dangerous or heavy items.
2. Record appliance and equipment model numbers, serial numbers and visible condition.
3. Photograph the roof from the ground, then exterior walls, windows and doors.
4. Capture the lanai, pool cage, dock, fence, shed and parked vehicles.
5. Save purchase records, earlier repair invoices and photographs of existing damage.
6. Back up the files off the phone and confirm you can open that copy.

Say which room you’re filming and show the surrounding wall or floor before taking close-ups. Keep original files rather than editing over them, and label receipts by item. This gives you an organized record to compare with the adjuster’s inventory after a loss.

Don’t climb onto the roof for this checklist. A ground-level record is useful without that risk. A pool cage insurance claim also needs the policy’s enclosure terms. Photographs establish condition. They don’t create coverage that the contract excludes.

Keep receipts for previous storm repairs with the inventory so damage from separate events can be distinguished.

Which insurance documents should I have in hand?

Save the declarations page, complete policy, endorsements, insurer’s claim contact and any separate flood policy. Under Fla. Stat. 627.701, a homeowner’s percentage hurricane deductible is based on the policy dwelling limits. Check the dollar amount on your declarations page or, at renewal, the premium renewal notice before planning your available cash.

The Census Bureau reports a $371,500 median owner-occupied home value in Hillsborough County for 2020 through 2024. Market value and rebuilding coverage are separate measures. For arithmetic only, suppose your Coverage A dwelling limit is $371,500. A 2% deductible is $7,430, and a 5% deductible is $18,575. Use your own policy limit.

For personal-lines residential policies from the same insurer or an insurer in the same insurer group, the hurricane deductible applies across the calendar year. After an earlier hurricane loss that year, the insurer may apply a deductible to a subsequent hurricane. That deductible is the greater of the remaining hurricane deductible or the other-perils deductible. Keep earlier loss records, including losses below the deductible, with your hurricane deductible calculation.

1. Read whether roof and contents payments use replacement cost or actual cash value.
2. Find coverage limits for code upgrades, detached structures and screened enclosures.
3. Save your mortgage servicer’s details and the policy renewal documents.
4. Store an offline copy and a second copy outside the home.

For homeowners policies, Fla. Stat. 627.7011 requires offers of law and ordinance coverage at 25% or 50% of the dwelling limit. Without written refusal, the statutory default is 25%. A policy already carrying 25% still requires the 50% offer. The section excludes mobile home and non-homeowners policies. Check your issued ordinance and law coverage. This coverage concerns damaged portions unless total damage exceeds 50% of the structure’s replacement cost. For covered replacement-cost dwelling losses, initial payment is at least actual cash value less the deductible. Remaining payments follow work and incurred expenses, subject to statutory exceptions.

Standard homeowners coverage generally excludes flood and storm surge. Review wind vs. flood damage before assuming every hurricane loss is wind. A flood damage insurance claim follows its own policy. NFIP’s usual waiting period is 30 days. Check the specified exceptions and your private-policy terms separately.

How do I protect the house itself?

Protect windows, doors and the garage door before storm conditions make the work unsafe. The Florida Division of Emergency Management recommends impact-resistant openings or properly secured protective coverings. The National Weather Service checklist addresses shutters, loose objects and gutters. Follow local evacuation orders even if your preparations remain unfinished.

1. Install shutters or rated panels according to their instructions and check garage-door protection.
2. Clear safely accessible gutters and downspouts before the storm.
3. Bring in pool furniture, grills and planters, or secure them appropriately.
4. Keep the pool filled, following UF/IFAS hurricane guidance.
5. Remove loose yard debris without leaving fresh-cut branches piled outside.
6. Photograph completed preparation and the roof from the ground.
7. Turn off propane tanks as directed in the National Weather Service checklist.
8. Learn how to shut off water, electricity and gas safely before an emergency, following CDC preparation guidance.
9. Pack medications, cash, charging supplies and documents in a waterproof bag.

UF/IFAS warns against leaving branches and debris outside during a storm. Arrange removal before cutting. The neighbor’s tree fell on my house guide addresses a later loss. Check your garage-door protection as part of NOAA’s home preparation guidance.

CDC places portable generators outdoors, at least 20 feet from doors, windows and vents, and calls for a battery-powered or battery-backup carbon-monoxide detector. Never operate one in a garage. OSHA’s generator guidance advises using a qualified electrician and a properly installed transfer switch before connecting a generator to household wiring.

What about my condo or my business?

Keep each policy with records of the property it insures. Fla. Stat. 627.4025 distinguishes personal residential policies from commercial residential coverage, including association policies. For your own preparation, organize common-element photographs and maintenance records for the association, and stock, payroll and lease records for a business. Check each policy’s reporting requirements.

1. Confirm the association manager has policy numbers and carrier reporting contacts.
2. Copy roof, elevator and other common-equipment maintenance records.
3. Photograph business inventory and back up sales, payroll and operating records.
4. Record planned closures and the reason for each interruption.

Keep the unit owner’s policy separate from the records for a condo association insurance claim. For a commercial property claim, save the forms and endorsements addressing business interruption and ask your agent to explain the covered causes, waiting periods and exclusions.

What should I avoid signing or changing before the storm?

Check the contractor, scope and payment terms before signing. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation license search identifies licensed contractors. Under Fla. Stat. 489.127, a business tax receipt is not a contractor license. Keep the complete proposal and contract, and avoid paying the entire job price before work.

1. Verify the license and obtain proof of insurance before authorizing repairs.
2. Read the itemized scope and payment terms before signing completed forms.
3. Reject deductible-waiver inducements for roof inspections or roof insurance claims prohibited by Fla. Stat. 489.147.

Don’t cancel existing coverage on an assumption that replacement coverage is already effective. Ask the insurer what changes are available and when they would take effect. No general rule makes new flood protection immediate.

Save suspicious quotes and receipts. Fla. Stat. 501.160 restricts unconscionable sale or rental prices for essential commodities, dwellings and self-storage needed because of a Governor-declared emergency, within the declared area. The initial restriction lasts up to 60 days, extendable by a specific Governor’s order. The Attorney General’s Fraud Hotline takes reports: (866) 966-7226 toll-free within Florida, or (850) 414-3990.

What are the first three steps after the storm passes?

1. Follow local officials and CDC safety guidance before entering damaged property.
2. Photograph damage before cleanup when safe and arrange necessary temporary protection.
3. Report your hurricane damage insurance claim promptly in writing and save confirmation. Read the insurance claim deadline calculator explanation and check the issue or renewal date on your declarations page, because that date decides which notice deadline applies.

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I’m Cory Cannon, an attorney serving Tampa Bay and Florida’s Gulf Coast. I review the policy, photographs and claim correspondence to identify the coverage issue and the next legal step. The initial consultation is free. Ask about an insurance matter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does homeowners insurance cover hurricane flooding?

Standard homeowners insurance generally excludes flood and storm surge, even when a hurricane causes them. The flood insurance notice that Fla. Stat. 627.7011 requires on the declarations page explains why separate flood insurance matters. Check whether you have an NFIP or private flood policy and save its declarations page. Wind-driven rain also depends on the homeowners policy's wording and the damage mechanism. Naming the hurricane doesn't establish coverage for every kind of water damage.

What should I check about my hurricane deductible?

Find the percentage and dollar amount on your declarations page or premium renewal notice. Fla. Stat. 627.701 bases a homeowner's percentage deductible on the policy dwelling limits. Personal-lines residential policies from the same insurer or an insurer in the same insurer group use a calendar-year hurricane deductible. After an earlier hurricane loss that year, the insurer may apply a deductible to a subsequent hurricane. That deductible is the greater of the remaining hurricane deductible or the other-perils deductible. Keep earlier loss records so the calculation can be checked.

Can I buy flood insurance before an approaching storm?

Ask about availability and the actual effective date before relying on a new policy. FloodSmart states that NFIP coverage ordinarily has a 30-day waiting period, with specific exceptions involving matters such as qualifying mortgage transactions. Private flood policies have their own terms. A purchase confirmation alone doesn't establish that an approaching storm is covered. Keep existing insurance in place while you confirm the replacement coverage and its start date in writing.

Should I board up or use shutters?

The Florida Division of Emergency Management recommends impact-resistant openings or protective coverings, including rated shutters or properly secured 5/8-inch plywood. Its hurricane guidance calls for preparation before a storm threatens. Follow installation instructions for your openings. Don't undertake unsafe ladder work to finish. Photograph completed protection from the ground when safe, and follow any evacuation order without waiting to complete your inventory.

Can I tarp damage before the insurance inspection?

For personal-lines residential policies, the Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights, Fla. Stat. 627.7142, advises necessary emergency repairs and documentation. Contact your insurer before contracting for repairs to confirm managed-repair provisions or optional preferred vendors. Photograph damage before and after work, keep receipts and retain damaged property when feasible. Arrange safe temporary protection and report what was done. Payment depends on the covered cause, policy terms and documented expense.

Is Florida's disaster-supply tax exemption still a short holiday?

Florida made specified disaster supplies permanently exempt effective August 1, 2025, according to Department of Revenue TIP 25A01-05. Its list includes portable generators producing 10,000 running watts or less and portable gas or diesel cans holding 5 gallons or less. TIP 26A01-05 adds portable propane tanks of 20 pounds or less effective July 1, 2026. Check the complete item definitions before buying. An emergency purchase isn't automatically tax-exempt merely because a storm is approaching.

When does a hurricane deductible apply?

Fla. Stat. 627.4025 ties the deductible to a storm declared a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center. The statutory hurricane period begins when a hurricane warning is issued for any part of Florida. It ends 72 hours after the last Florida hurricane watch or warning terminates. Save your policy's hurricane endorsement and ask how it applies to the documented cause and timing of your loss. Other windstorms require their own policy analysis.