St. Petersburg took three record-setting storm surges in just over a year. Hurricane Idalia brought roughly 4 feet of surge on August 30, 2023, tying the city's prior 1985 record. Hurricane Helene broke that record on September 26 to 27, 2024, with a 6.3-to-7-foot surge that put bay water into Snell Isle, Shore Acres, Coquina Key, and Venetian Isles by midday. Hurricane Milton followed on October 9 to 10, 2024, with a 101 mph wind gust that tore the fabric roof off Tropicana Field. Three storms, three separate claims, and a lot of overlapping damage to sort out.
St. Petersburg took three record-setting storm surges in about thirteen months, and Coyne Commercial Group represents the homeowners, condominium and HOA associations, and commercial property owners now separating what each one actually did, from first inspection through final settlement. We work Pinellas County and neighboring Hillsborough and Manatee on a contingency basis: no recovery, no fee.
St. Petersburg's low-lying, historic bayfront neighborhoods sit next to a growing stock of aging condo towers now working through Florida's mandatory Milestone Inspection law, and the two issues are increasingly colliding. When a structural inspection and a hurricane claim land on the same building in the same year, getting the documentation right decides whether an owner recovers what the policy actually promised.
What St. Petersburg property owners have been through.
Hurricane Idalia
Idalia brought roughly 4 feet of storm surge to St. Petersburg, on par with the city's prior record set in 1985. The St. Pete Pier and the entrance to the Dali Museum were submerged, and fire rescue crews rescued more than 75 people from flooding.
Hurricane Helene
Helene pushed a 6.3-to-7-foot storm surge into St. Petersburg, surpassing the previous record of 3.97 feet set during Hurricane Elena in 1985. Northeast St. Petersburg's flood-prone neighborhoods, Snell Isle, Shore Acres, Coquina Key, Venetian Isles, and Weedon Island, were covered by bay water by midday. Roughly 232,000 Duke Energy customers lost power, and first responders rescued about 70 people.
Hurricane Milton
Milton produced a 101 mph wind gust in St. Petersburg, tearing the fabric roof off Tropicana Field, a rebuild that took until April 2026 to complete. Milton also spawned Florida's worst tornado outbreak in 70 years, and Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg, was among the hardest-hit areas with roughly 413,000 power outages.
Pinellas Park and Largo tornado
A suspected tornado tore through the Ranchero Village and Bay Ranch mobile home parks near St. Petersburg, tearing the roofs off about 20 structures and leaving more than 6,000 customers without power.
St. Petersburg's Old Northeast Historic District holds nearly 3,000 historic buildings on brick streets with granite curbs, one of the city's first planned suburbs, with homes dating to the early 1900s in Mediterranean and bungalow styles. The Kenwood Historic District carries its own bungalow-heavy housing stock from the same era, and Historic Roser Park, St. Petersburg's first residential subdivision outside downtown and a National Register district, mixes Frame Vernacular, Bungalow, Prairie, Craftsman, Mediterranean Revival, and Tudor Revival homes built in the 1910s and 1920s around Booker Creek's ravine topography.
Layered on top of that historic housing stock is a substantial inventory of aging condo and co-op buildings subject to Florida's SB 4-D Milestone Inspection law, which requires structural recertification at 30 years of age and every 10 years after. As of the most recent reporting, only about 4 in 10 Pinellas County buildings required to complete a milestone inspection had actually done so, a compliance gap that carries both safety and insurability consequences. The city's low-lying bayfront neighborhoods, Snell Isle, Shore Acres, Coquina Key, and Venetian Isles among them, have flooded repeatedly across recent storm seasons.
Pinellas County saw a 65 percent drop in Citizens Property Insurance policies as the state pushed depopulation to private carriers, but the county still holds the most Citizens policies in the Tampa Bay region, 32,208 after that depopulation. That combination, a shrinking safety-net insurer and a large remaining Citizens base, leaves many St. Petersburg owners exposed to whichever way the local market moves next.
Statewide Florida Office of Insurance Regulation data shows 32 percent of Helene claims and 35 percent of Milton claims closed without any payment, a figure directly relevant to St. Petersburg given how densely both storms affected the city. For owners already navigating a milestone-inspection deadline, a denied or underpaid storm claim compounds an already difficult financial position.
General information only, not legal advice or a coverage determination. Coverage depends on your specific policy, the facts of your loss, and current Florida law.
Who we represent in St. Petersburg.
Homeowners
Hurricane, wind, water, mold, and fire claims on St. Petersburg homes, documented and pursued for full value.
Residential claims →Associations, Boards & Operators
Master-policy, common-element, and large-loss commercial claims for St. Petersburg condominiums, HOAs, and multifamily operators.
Commercial claims →Claim types we handle in St. Petersburg.
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