Hurricane insurance claim: the first 30 days
General information, not legal or insurance advice. Your policy and state rules control.
After a hurricane, thousands of claims hit your insurer at once. The families who get paid fully and fast aren't the luckiest — they're the ones whose paperwork makes their claim the easiest to approve. Here's the sequence.
Days 0–2: document, then protect
- Photograph everything before touching anything. Every room, the roof from the ground, wide shots then close-ups. Video with narration is fastest.
- File the claim immediately — many insurers handle in order received. Note your claim number and the first-notice date.
- Make reasonable temporary repairs (tarp the roof, board windows) to prevent further damage — your policy likely requires it. Keep every receipt; this is typically reimbursable.
- If the home is unlivable, start your ALE trail the first night: hotel and meal receipts from day one.
Days 2–14: the adjuster
- Log every conversation: date, name, what was said, what was promised. Regulators explicitly recommend keeping this claim diary — and it changes the insurer's tone when they know you keep one.
- Walk the inspection with the adjuster; point out everything, including what's easy to miss (attic, detached structures, fencing, food loss).
- Ask for the inspection report timeline in writing, and for your hurricane deductible amount if you don't know it.
Days 14–30: the paper race
- Watch the proof of loss deadline — often 60 days from the insurer's request. Missing it can jeopardize the claim; extensions are possible, in writing.
- Get independent repair estimates. If the insurer's number looks low, you negotiate with documents, not frustration — see our RCV vs ACV guide for how depreciation works.
- Keep collecting ALE receipts for the whole displacement, not just the first week.
When to escalate
If deadlines slip or numbers don't move: a written complaint to your state's Department of Insurance is free and surprisingly effective — your call log is its backbone. For large, contested claims, a public adjuster may earn their fee. And when rebuild quotes start, vet contractors carefully — post-storm fraud follows every disaster.
Receipts, call log, damage photos, deadlines — one dated claim file PDF. $9.99 once.
FAQ
Should I start cleanup before the adjuster comes?
Photograph and video everything first — wide shots, then close-ups. You may (and often must) make reasonable temporary repairs to prevent further damage, and those costs are typically reimbursable. Keep receipts for tarps, plywood and labor, and keep damaged materials until the adjuster has seen them or released you in writing.
What is ALE and does it apply to hurricanes?
If your home is unlivable, Additional Living Expenses (Loss of Use) coverage pays the extra cost of living elsewhere: hotel, meals above normal, laundry, mileage. It's reimbursed against receipts — start collecting them from night one.
Hurricane deductible vs regular deductible?
Many coastal policies carry a separate hurricane or named-storm deductible calculated as a percentage of your dwelling coverage (often 1–10%), not a flat amount. Find it on your declarations page early — it frames every conversation about the payout.
The insurer is slow. What are my rights?
Most states set deadlines for insurers to acknowledge, investigate and pay claims, and many issue post-disaster emergency orders extending policyholder rights. Your dated log of every call — who, when, what was promised — is what turns 'they're slow' into a written complaint that gets action.