Hurricane Isaias Insurance Claims: What Panhandle Property Owners Should Do Now

Short answer

What to do now, and what to do after Isaias passes

Before the storm, the job is evidence and paperwork: photograph the property in its current condition, gather every policy, and get copies off site. After the storm, the job is safety, mitigation, and notice: protect the property from further damage, document everything before cleanup, and report the claim to every carrier that may owe it, in writing.

1. 01Today: walk the property and take date-stamped photos and video of roofs, exterior walls, windows, doors, mechanical equipment, and interiors. This is your proof of pre-storm condition.
2. 02Today: pull the declarations pages for the property policy, the windstorm policy if separate, the flood policy, and any business income coverage. Note the hurricane or named-storm deductible. Save copies somewhere you can reach from a phone.
3. 03After the storm, once it is safe: photograph and video all damage before anything is moved, torn out, or thrown away.
4. 04Take reasonable steps to stop further damage: tarp openings, board windows, start water extraction and drying. Keep every receipt and invoice.
5. 05Report the claim in writing to the property carrier and, if water came in from outside, to the flood carrier. Get a claim number from each.
6. 06Do not sign a release, a proof of loss, or a contractor's paperwork you have not read and understood.

Where Isaias stands, as of October 7, 2026

As of the National Hurricane Center's 7:00 PM CDT advisory on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, Isaias was a tropical storm in the southern Gulf with maximum sustained winds near 65 mph. NHC forecast it to become a hurricane by Thursday morning, strengthen further through Friday morning, and make landfall along the U.S. northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday.

At that advisory, a Hurricane Watch was in effect from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Indian Pass, Florida, and a Storm Surge Watch from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Yankeetown. NHC's peak surge forecast for Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to Indian Pass was 5 to 7 feet above ground if the peak surge arrives at high tide. That stretch includes Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, and Panama City Beach.

On October 6, 2026, Governor DeSantis signed Executive Order 26-202, declaring a state of emergency in 25 counties, including Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, and Gulf. Forecasts change. Follow NHC and your county emergency management office for the current track, and treat everything in this section as a snapshot of that date.

Before landfall: build the record you will need later

When I worked on the carrier side, the files that moved cleanly had one thing in common: the owner could show what the building looked like before the storm. Without that, a carrier adjuster can question whether a damaged roof, a cracked window, or a stained ceiling was already that way. A 20-minute walkthrough on your phone today can answer that question for you.

• Photograph every elevation of every building, the roof if it can be safely seen, and every interior common area. Narrate the video with the date and location.
• Record model and serial numbers of rooftop units, generators, elevators, pumps, and electrical gear.
• Collect the full policy, not just the declarations page. For associations, include the master policy, any separate wind policy, and the flood policy, often a Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (RCBAP).
• Check whether you have flood coverage at all. New NFIP policies generally carry a 30-day waiting period, and carriers commonly stop writing new coverage or changes once a watch is posted, so assume what you have today is what you will claim under.
• Save maintenance records, recent roof reports, and any milestone inspection or reserve study. They help show the building was maintained.
• Property managers: confirm vendor contacts for tarping, board-up, and water mitigation now. Crews book up fast after landfall.

After landfall: safety, mitigation, notice

Do not enter a damaged building until local officials say it is safe. Once you can, document first. Wide shots of each building, then each room or area, then close-ups. Photograph water lines on walls with a tape measure in the frame. That one detail matters on the Gulf front, where surge and wind damage can sit side by side.

Then mitigate. Most property policies require you to take reasonable steps to protect the property from further damage, and the reasonable cost of doing so is generally part of the claim. Tarp the roof, board openings, extract water, and start drying. Keep damaged materials, or at least samples and photos, until the carrier has had a chance to inspect.

Report the claim to every carrier that may owe part of it, in writing, and keep a copy. Under Florida law, notice of a new property claim generally must be given within one year of the date of loss, and a supplemental claim within 18 months. Do not wait anywhere near that long. Late notice gives a carrier an argument you do not want to defend.

The named-storm deductible

Most commercial and association policies in Florida carry a separate hurricane or named-storm deductible, usually written as a percentage of the insured value, not a flat dollar amount. On a building insured for $20 million, a 5 percent deductible is $1 million. Depending on the policy wording, it may be calculated per building, per location, or per occurrence. Policies vary, so read your declarations and the deductible endorsement before you decide whether a loss clears it.

That number surprises a lot of boards. It also drives the decision on whether to file and how carefully to scope the damage, because every item the first estimate misses comes straight out of the owner's pocket until the deductible is cleared. We cover the math in more detail in our post on named-storm deductibles for commercial property.

Wind versus storm surge

This is the biggest coverage question on the Panhandle coast. Wind damage, and rain driven in through wind-created openings, generally falls under the property or windstorm policy. Storm surge is flood, and flood is excluded from virtually every property policy. It goes to the NFIP or a private flood policy, if you have one.

Many Gulf-front buildings will have both: shingles and windows lost to wind on the upper floors, surge through the ground floor and parking level. Two claims, two adjusters, and often a fight over which caused what. Our companion guide on wind versus flood damage covers how causation is proven on barrier-island property.

Condo associations and unit owners

Under Fla. Stat. 718.111(11), a residential condominium association must insure the condominium property as originally installed, or replaced with like kind and quality. Unit owners are responsible for their personal property and for items the statute excludes from the association's coverage, such as floor, wall, and ceiling coverings, appliances, water heaters, cabinets, and window treatments within the unit. Those belong under the owner's HO-6 policy.

The statute also makes property insurance deductibles a common expense in most cases. A board facing a large named-storm deductible may have to consider a special assessment, which is where an owner's HO-6 loss assessment coverage may help. Boards should coordinate early: one claim for the building, unit owners filing their own claims for their own portions, and one consistent set of photos and dates for everyone.

Business income and loss of rents

If the building cannot operate, or tenants cannot occupy, business income or loss of rents coverage may apply. These coverages usually follow the property damage: if the damage is from a covered cause such as wind, the income loss tied to it may be covered; if it is from surge and the property policy excludes flood, the income loss usually is not. Waiting periods, often counted in hours, and the period of restoration language matter. Track lost rent, cancelled bookings, and extra expenses from day one. For condo-hotels and short-term rental programs on Okaloosa Island and in Destin, booking records will be key evidence.

When to call a public adjuster, and what the law says about fees

If the loss is small and the carrier pays it fairly, you may not need anyone. A public adjuster earns a fee on larger or more complicated losses: multi-building properties, wind and surge in the same building, business income claims, association claims with dozens of unit owners, or a first offer that does not match the damage.

Florida law caps public adjuster fees. Under Fla. Stat. 626.854(11)(b)1, for a claim based on events that are the subject of a state of emergency declared by the Governor, the fee may not exceed 10 percent of the insurance claim payments or settlements during the year after the declaration. Outside that window, or for claims not tied to a declared emergency, the general cap is 20 percent. The statute also limits fees to 1 percent where the carrier pays or commits to pay policy limits on a coverage within 14 days after the loss or 10 days after the contract, whichever is later, and allows no fee on amounts paid before the contract was signed. Deductibles are excluded from the fee base.

Whoever you hire, verify the license with the Florida Department of Financial Services, read the contract, and ask how they will document wind versus surge on your building. If a dispute turns into a coverage or legal question, talk to a property insurance attorney.

Commonly Asked Questions

Related

• Wind vs. flood damage on Gulf-front property →
• Public adjusters in Pensacola and Pensacola Beach →
• Public adjusters in Destin and Okaloosa Island →
• Named-storm deductibles on commercial property →
• Condo master policy vs. unit owner insurance →
• Loss of rents claims in Florida →
• Property manager duties after storm damage →
• Public adjuster fees under Florida law →
• What to do with a lowball offer →
• The appraisal clause in claim disputes →
• Florida claim notice deadlines →
• Should you hire a public adjuster? →
• Contact Coyne Commercial Group →

About the Author

James Coyne

Florida Licensed Public Adjuster, License W482618. Founder of Coyne Commercial Group, Firm License G350978, Sanford, Florida. Represents commercial property owners, condominium and HOA associations, and homeowners on insurance claims statewide.

Sources

• National Hurricane Center: Tropical Storm Isaias Intermediate Advisory 5A, 7:00 PM CDT, October 7, 2026
• Florida Executive Order 26-202 (Emergency Management, Tropical Depression Nine), signed October 6, 2026
• Fla. Stat. § 626.854 (2026): public adjuster definitions, conduct, and compensation limits in subsection (11)
• Fla. Stat. § 718.111(11) (2026): condominium association insurance obligations
• Fla. Stat. § 627.70132: notice of property insurance claims
• NFIP Standard Flood Insurance Policy: 30-day waiting period for new policies; proof of loss within 60 days of the loss

This page is for general information, not legal advice or a coverage determination. Confirm any deadline or obligation against your policy, your association’s governing documents, and current Florida law.