June 1 marks the start of Atlantic hurricane season. For Florida homeowners, that means there are specific things worth doing now, before a storm is named and the window closes.
June 1 is the official start of Atlantic hurricane season. Most Floridians know the drill for supplies: water, batteries, a go-bag. But there's a second list that gets less attention, the structural and permitting side of storm preparation, and it's the one that can cost you the most if you ignore it.
Here's what to address now, while you still have time to act.
1. Know Whether You're in a Flood Zone
If you don't know your property's flood zone designation, find out today. Go to FEMA's Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov and enter your address. The flood zone designation determines:
- Whether you're required to carry flood insurance
- How your insurer (and FEMA) will handle a major damage claim
- Whether FEMA's 50% Rule applies if your home sustains significant damage
A home in Zone AE or VE that takes major hurricane damage may be subject to Substantial Damage requirements, which can require full elevation before you're allowed to repair. Knowing this in advance gives you time to understand your exposure.
2. Get an Elevation Certificate If You Don't Have One
An elevation certificate documents your home's elevation relative to the Base Flood Elevation for your zone. If you're in a flood zone and you don't have one, you need one.
Why it matters: - It can significantly reduce your NFIP flood insurance premiums if your home is elevated above BFE - It's required documentation for any FEMA compliance work after storm damage - It establishes a pre-storm baseline that matters if you need to dispute a Substantial Damage determination
A licensed Professional Engineer or licensed land surveyor completes an elevation certificate. This is not something you order online.
3. Close Any Open Permits Before Storm Season
Open permits on your property, work that was started but never finaled, can create serious complications after a storm. Here's why:
If you file an insurance claim for hurricane damage and the adjuster or inspector finds open permits on the property, it complicates the claim. Some insurers will use open permits as a reason to reduce or deny coverage for affected portions of the property.
More importantly, if a storm causes damage to work that's under an open permit, the county may require you to address the open permit as a condition of issuing new repair permits.
Pull your permit history from your county building department's public portal. If you see permits listed as "open," "in review," or anything other than "finaled," find out what's needed to close them. In many cases, it's a single inspection that was never scheduled.
4. Permit Your Storm Shutters, Impact Windows, and Doors
This one surprises a lot of homeowners: storm shutters, impact-rated windows, and hurricane-rated doors all require permits in Florida.
If you had them installed and never pulled a permit, you have unpermitted work. That unpermitted status matters after a storm in two ways:
First, if the installation is damaged and you file a claim, an adjuster who finds unpermitted storm protection may raise questions about the rest of the claim. Second, if your overall storm damage triggers a Substantial Damage review, unpermitted improvements add to the complexity of the process.
The good news is that after-the-fact permits for windows and doors are usually straightforward, provided the installation meets Florida Building Code. Get it done now, before storm season forces the issue.
5. Document Your Home's Current Condition
Before any storm hits, do a thorough video walkthrough of your entire property. Every room, every exterior wall, the roof if you can safely access it, the garage, the HVAC unit, the fence.
This video is your pre-storm baseline. If a hurricane damages your home, this documentation can be the difference between a fair insurance settlement and a prolonged dispute. Adjusters estimating storm damage without a pre-storm baseline are working in the dark, and the estimate may not reflect what was actually there.
Store the video somewhere off-site: cloud storage, email it to yourself, upload it to a drive your family can access from anywhere.
6. Understand What Your Homeowner's Policy Actually Covers
Most standard Florida homeowner's policies cover wind damage. They do not cover flooding. Those are two separate policies.
If you're in a flood zone, your mortgage lender requires you to carry flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood carrier. If you own your home free and clear, it's your call, but the exposure is real.
Review both policies before storm season and specifically look for: - Your wind deductible (often 2-5% of the insured value in Florida, not a flat dollar amount) - What your flood policy covers for the structure vs. contents - Whether you have any ICC (Increased Cost of Compliance) coverage on your flood policy
7. Have a Licensed Contractor You Trust Before You Need One
After a major storm hits the Tampa Bay area, unlicensed contractors pour in from out of state. They knock on doors, offer fast quotes, ask for large deposits, and disappear, or do work that fails inspection and creates more problems than it solves.
Having an established relationship with a licensed Florida contractor before storm season means you're not making that decision under pressure, standing in a damaged home with water still on the floor.
In Florida, you can verify a contractor's license at myfloridalicense.com. A licensed general contractor (CGC or CBC license) can pull every permit needed for post-storm repair work. An unlicensed contractor cannot pull any permits, which means any work they do is automatically unpermitted.
The Permit and Engineering Side of Storm Recovery
If your home takes major hurricane damage this season, the path to recovery involves more than just calling your insurance company. It may involve:
- A Substantial Damage determination from the county if you're in a flood zone
- FEMA compliance requirements that affect your ability to repair and rebuild
- Multiple permit types for roofing, structural, electrical, and HVAC work
- An elevation certificate and potentially PE-stamped drawings before permits are issued
MKC handles all of it. We're licensed contractors with a PE on staff, and we've worked flood zone compliance and post-storm recovery in Pasco, Hillsborough, and Pinellas counties. If a major storm hits this season, we're the call to make.
For now: close your open permits, document your home, and make sure your flood coverage is in place.
Questions before the season heats up? Book a free 15-minute call. We'll give you straight answers about your specific property.
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