What To Do In The First 48 Hours After a Hurricane Damages Your Florida Roof?
In the first 48 hours after a hurricane damages your Florida roof, do the following in order: stay out of the structure until you’ve confirmed there are no gas leaks, downed power lines, or structural collapse risks. Once it’s safe to enter, document all visible damage with photos and video before touching anything. Apply emergency tarping only to prevent additional water intrusion — do not make permanent repairs before your insurance adjuster inspects the property. Contact your insurance carrier to open a claim and get a claim number. Do not sign an Assignment of Benefits agreement with any contractor until you have spoken with your carrier and reviewed the document with someone you trust. Get at least one written assessment from a licensed Florida roofing contractor before the adjuster visits, so you have an independent record of what was damaged and when.
The First 48 Hours After a Hurricane Damages Your Florida Roof
The storm has passed. The wind has stopped and you can finally step outside. The first thing most homeowners do is walk around the house looking at the damage, and the second thing most of them do is make a mistake that costs them thousands of dollars in a future insurance claim.
The 48 hours after a hurricane are the most consequential window in the entire claims process. What you document, what you sign, what you say to your carrier, and what repairs you authorize during that window determines what you recover. This guide walks through exactly what to do, in the right order, and what to avoid.
Hour Zero: Before You Go Outside
Before you walk the property, take a few minutes inside the house.
Check for the smell of gas. If you smell anything unusual near appliances or along the walls, do not turn on any lights or use anything electrical. Leave the house immediately, leave the door open behind you, and call 911 from outside. Florida Power and Light and Duke Energy both have 24-hour emergency lines; your utility provider’s number should be on your bill or their website.
Look up at the ceiling before you move through the house. Water-stained or sagging drywall can fail without warning. A ceiling that has absorbed significant water can drop suddenly under its own weight. Walk along the walls, not under the center of rooms, until you’ve confirmed the ceiling is stable.
If the roof has sustained major structural damage, visible from the outside as a collapse or large section missing, treat the interior as unsafe until a contractor or structural inspector has assessed it.
None of this takes more than five minutes, and it’s the difference between a dangerous situation and a manageable one.
The Documentation Window: Do This Before Anything Else
Once you’ve confirmed it’s safe to move through the property, stop before you touch anything and get your phone out.
Document everything. Every room. Every ceiling stain, every crack, every piece of debris that came through. Walk the exterior and photograph every section of the roof you can see from the ground. Photograph the gutters, the soffit, the fascia, the yard. If a tree fell on the roof or through it, photograph the tree from multiple angles before anyone moves it.
The reason this matters is specific to how insurance claims work in Florida. Your carrier’s adjuster will document what they see when they arrive, which is typically days or weeks after the storm. Anything that gets cleaned up, dried out, or repaired before they arrive is no longer visible evidence. Courts and appraisers work from documentation, not from your description of what it looked like.
Take photos with the timestamp feature enabled on your phone. Most modern phones embed the date and time automatically in the file metadata, but having it visible in the frame removes any ambiguity. If you have a second person with you, have them take photos on their phone as well. Two independent records are better than one.
Go into the attic if it’s safely accessible and photograph the decking from the inside. Water intrusion that isn’t visible on the ceiling below yet will often be visible on the underside of the decking within hours of the storm.
Video works alongside photos, not instead of them. Walk through the house narrating what you’re seeing. Note the date and time at the start of the video. This level of documentation might feel excessive when you’re standing in a damaged house trying to figure out what to do next, but it becomes exactly what you need when a claim goes sideways.
Emergency Tarping: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and When to Do It
Florida law, and the terms of virtually every homeowners insurance policy written in the state, require you to take reasonable steps to prevent additional damage after a covered loss. If your roof has an opening and rain is entering the house, you are expected to mitigate that. Not doing so can give your carrier grounds to dispute damage that occurred after the storm event itself.
Emergency tarping is the standard mitigation for roof openings. A properly installed tarp covers the damaged area, is secured at the edges to prevent wind from getting under it, and keeps water out until permanent repairs can be made.
What tarping is not: a permanent repair, a cosmetic fix, or something that substitutes for a full assessment. The tarp goes on to stop active water intrusion. That’s it.
What to watch for: after a hurricane, unlicensed contractors and storm chasers move through Florida neighborhoods offering quick tarping jobs. Some of them are fine. Some of them install tarps badly, which causes additional damage, and then disappear. Some of them come with an Assignment of Benefits agreement attached. Before you let anyone on your roof in those first 48 hours, ask for their Florida license number and verify it at the DBPR website before they start. A licensed contractor can have a tarp on your roof within hours; the license check takes two minutes.
If the damage is isolated and you have the materials, a homeowner can install a basic tarp themselves. The general standard is that the tarp should extend at least three feet beyond the damaged area on each side and be secured so it won’t lift in post-storm wind. If the damage is large, the pitch is steep, or you’re not comfortable on the roof, call a licensed contractor.
Opening the Insurance Claim
Contact your insurance carrier as soon as you have your documentation in order. Most carriers have 24-hour claims lines, and opening the claim early establishes your date of notice, which matters legally in Florida.
When you call, have the following ready: your policy number, the address of the damaged property, a brief description of the damage you observed, and the date and approximate time the damage occurred. You’ll receive a claim number. Write it down and keep it somewhere you won’t lose it. Every subsequent communication with your carrier should reference that number.
Florida law currently requires most property damage claims to be reported within one year of the date of loss. That window has been shortened in recent legislative sessions. Don’t wait weeks to open the claim; do it within the first 48 hours if at all possible.
A few things to know about what happens after you open the claim:
Your carrier will assign an adjuster. Adjuster response times after a major storm event are measured in days to weeks, not hours. During peak post-storm periods, adjusters handle hundreds of claims simultaneously. Don’t be surprised if the visit takes time to schedule.
You are entitled to have your own representative present when the adjuster visits. That can be a licensed public adjuster, an attorney, or simply yourself. Having a contractor’s written assessment in hand before that visit gives you an independent reference point.
The adjuster’s report is not the final word. You have the right to dispute their findings through a formal appraisal process if you disagree with their assessment. More on that below.
What Not to Sign in the First 48 Hours
This section is the most important one in this guide.
After a hurricane, contractors, restoration companies, and roofers will show up at your door. Some of them are legitimate and can do excellent work. Some of them are not. The fastest way to tell the difference in the first 48 hours is whether they ask you to sign something immediately.
Assignment of Benefits (AOB). An AOB is a document that transfers your insurance claim rights to a third party, typically the contractor. Florida enacted significant AOB reform legislation, and the practice is now much more restricted for property insurance claims than it was during the abuse cycles after Hurricanes Irma and Michael. Under current law, AOBs for property insurance must meet specific requirements, including a right of rescission window. Even so, signing anything that transfers your claim rights before you’ve spoken with your carrier and reviewed the document carefully is a risk you don’t need to take in the first 48 hours.
Direction to Pay. Separate from an AOB, a direction to pay is an instruction to your carrier to pay the contractor directly. This is less problematic than a full AOB transfer but still commits you to that contractor and that scope of work before you’ve received an independent assessment.
“Emergency services” authorization with open-ended scope. Some contractors present authorization documents for emergency services that include language authorizing full repairs at undisclosed pricing. Read everything before you sign it. If the document doesn’t specify the exact scope of work and the pricing basis, don’t sign it.
The Florida Department of Financial Services has a consumer hotline and online resources on contractor fraud after storms. If something feels off about how a contractor is presenting their paperwork, call the department before you sign.
None of this means you should refuse all help in the first 48 hours. It means you should understand what you’re signing before you sign it, and you should prioritize working with contractors who are willing to give you time to review their documents.
Getting a Contractor Assessment Before the Adjuster Arrives
One of the most useful things you can do in the first 48 hours is get a written assessment from a licensed Florida roofing contractor before your insurance adjuster visits.
This does several things. It creates an independent, dated record of the damage as observed by a professional. It gives you a scope of repair to compare against the adjuster’s scope. If the adjuster’s estimate comes in lower than the contractor’s assessment, that discrepancy is the starting point for a dispute or appraisal.
A written contractor assessment should include: the date of the inspection, the contractor’s license number, a description of the damage observed on the roof and in the attic, an estimated scope of repair, and photos taken during the inspection. Most licensed contractors in Florida provide this at no charge after a storm event.
JA Edwards of America offers free post-storm inspections across Central and South Florida. Our teams are active after storm events in Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Port St. Lucie. Call the office closest to you or schedule online.
The Adjuster Visit: How to Handle It
When the adjuster arrives, be present for the entire inspection. Do not leave them on the property alone. Walk with them through every area of visible damage and point out everything you documented. Show them your photos. Have your contractor’s written assessment available.
Take notes during the visit. Write down the adjuster’s name and the name of their employer (adjusters are sometimes independent contractors hired by the carrier, not employees). Note the date and time of the visit and everything they observed and said.
After the visit, you’ll receive the adjuster’s report and a coverage determination. Read it carefully against your contractor’s assessment. If the scope is significantly different, that’s the signal to get a second opinion or to initiate the dispute process.
Understanding the Dispute Process
If you disagree with your carrier’s coverage determination or with the amount they’ve offered to settle your claim, you have options under Florida law.
Supplemental claim. If additional damage is discovered after the initial claim is closed, you can file a supplemental claim. This is common when hidden damage, such as deteriorated decking under the shingles, is found during the actual repair work.
Appraisal. Most Florida property insurance policies include an appraisal clause. If you and your carrier disagree on the value of the loss, either party can invoke appraisal. Each side hires their own appraiser, and the two appraisers select an umpire. The umpire’s decision is binding. This process typically costs money and takes time, but it’s faster and less expensive than litigation.
Mediation. Florida law provides a free mediation program for residential property insurance disputes through the Department of Financial Services. This is a lower-cost option before pursuing appraisal or legal action.
Attorney. If the dispute involves bad faith claim handling, significant underpayment, or denial of a legitimate claim, a Florida property insurance attorney can evaluate your case. Many work on contingency for storm damage claims.
The Florida Department of Financial Services insurance consumer helpline is the first call to make if you believe your claim is being mishandled.
A Note on Storm Chasers
Every hurricane that makes landfall in Florida is followed within days by out-of-state contractors who move through damaged neighborhoods offering fast repairs. Some are legitimate. Many are not licensed in Florida, not insured in Florida, and have no local presence to hold accountable if the work fails.
Florida requires a CCC license for roofing work. Verify any contractor’s license at the Florida DBPR license search before they start work. Ask for a certificate of insurance showing general liability and workers’ compensation coverage in Florida. If a contractor can’t produce both within a few minutes, move on.
The work a storm chaser does on your roof may not be permitted, may not meet Florida Building Code, and may not be covered by your homeowners insurance in a subsequent claim. An unpermitted repair that fails in the next storm is your problem, not theirs, because they’re already in the next state.
After the First 48 Hours
Once you’ve documented the damage, opened the claim, secured the roof against additional water intrusion, and gotten a contractor’s written assessment, the most acute phase is over. What comes next is a process that typically takes weeks, and it’s less urgent but still requires attention.
Keep all receipts for any emergency mitigation work. Most policies reimburse reasonable mitigation costs, and you’ll need documentation to recover them. Keep a log of every communication with your carrier, including date, time, who you spoke with, and what was discussed.
If your home is uninhabitable, check your policy for Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage. Most homeowners policies include ALE, which covers reasonable hotel and food costs while the home is being repaired, subject to policy limits.
Stay patient with the timeline. After a major storm event, every licensed contractor in Florida is operating at capacity. Permit offices are backed up. Material availability tightens. A good contractor who communicates clearly and pulls the proper permits is worth the wait.
JA Edwards of America has been serving Florida homeowners since 2004. We hold a GAF Master Elite certification and operate out of four offices across the state. If your roof was damaged in a storm and you want a free professional assessment before your adjuster arrives, call us. Orlando: (407) 677-7663. Tampa: (727) 953-3181. Jacksonville: (904) 367-2913. Port St. Lucie: (772) 204-2452.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first thing I should do after a hurricane damages my roof?
Confirm the property is safe to enter — no gas leaks, no structural collapse risk, no downed power lines. Once it’s safe, document everything with photos and video before touching or moving anything. Do not make permanent repairs before your insurance adjuster inspects the damage.
Can I tarp my own roof after a hurricane?
Yes, if it’s safe to do so. A basic tarp installation is within reach for most homeowners on a low-slope or accessible roof. The tarp should extend at least three feet beyond the damaged area on each side and be secured so it won’t lift in wind. If the pitch is steep, the damage is large, or you’re not comfortable on the roof, hire a licensed contractor.
How long do I have to file a roof damage claim in Florida after a hurricane?
Florida law currently requires most property damage claims to be filed within one year of the date of loss. Don’t wait; open the claim within the first 48 hours if possible to establish your date of notice and give yourself the most time to resolve the claim.
What is an Assignment of Benefits and should I sign one?
An Assignment of Benefits (AOB) is a document that transfers your insurance claim rights to a contractor. Florida has significantly restricted AOB for property insurance in recent legislation. You should not sign any document transferring your claim rights without understanding exactly what it says and without speaking to your insurance carrier first. Take the time to read anything a contractor presents before signing.
Do I need to be home when the insurance adjuster visits?
Yes. Be present for the entire adjuster inspection, walk with them through every area of damage, show them your documentation, and take notes on what they observe and say. Having a contractor’s written assessment available during the adjuster visit gives you an independent reference point if the scopes don’t match.
What if my insurance adjuster’s estimate is lower than the contractor’s estimate?
You have the right to dispute the adjuster’s determination. Options include filing a supplemental claim if additional damage is found, invoking the appraisal clause in your policy, requesting free mediation through the Florida Department of Financial Services, or consulting a Florida property insurance attorney. A significant discrepancy between the adjuster’s scope and a licensed contractor’s written assessment is the starting point for that process.
How do I know if a post-hurricane contractor is legitimate in Florida?
Verify their Florida roofing contractor license (CCC license) at the DBPR website before they start any work. Ask for a certificate of insurance showing general liability and workers’ compensation coverage in Florida. If they can’t provide both immediately, don’t use them. Out-of-state contractors often cannot produce a valid Florida CCC license.
What does “mitigate further damage” mean in my insurance policy?
Your policy requires you to take reasonable steps to prevent additional damage after a covered loss. For roof damage, that typically means tarping open areas to prevent rain from entering the home. Failure to mitigate can give your carrier grounds to dispute damage that occurred after the storm rather than during it.