Guides
What Hurricanes Helene and Milton taught homeowners
Two 2024 hurricanes two weeks apart exposed gaps in flood cover, deductible timing and inland wind claims. Loss, NFIP and Florida OIR figures, plus a checklist.
Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit the Southeast within two weeks of each other in the fall of 2024, and they taught three things most homeowners had not planned for: wind damage far from the coast is a normal homeowners claim, flood damage far from the coast usually is not insured at all, and a second storm in the same season can arrive before the first claim is settled. Insured losses were large (Aon counts $17.5 billion for Helene and $20.0 billion for Milton, including the National Flood Insurance Program), but the larger story was the share of damage that no insurance covered.
What the storms did, in numbers
Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region on September 27, 2024 and then moved inland across Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee. Milton came ashore in Florida on October 9, 2024. Estimates vary by who is counting.
| Source | Helene | Milton | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aon (annual report) | $17.5 billion insured | $20.0 billion insured | Includes NFIP |
| Munich Re | $16 billion insured | $25 billion insured | Annual report |
| Verisk (early estimate) | $6 to $11 billion | $30 to $50 billion | Private market, excludes NFIP |
The gaps between the numbers come from what each includes: some count flood insurance, some do not. Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) publishes insurer-reported claims, which are unaudited and exclude NFIP. As of December 9, 2025, Milton produced 385,146 claims and about $5.6 billion in estimated insured losses in Florida, 242,719 of those claims on homeowners policies. As of June 10, 2025, Helene produced 155,182 Florida claims and about $2.6 billion.
For flood, the NFIP had 57,800 paid Helene losses totaling $5.803 billion, according to FEMA data cited by the Insurance Information Institute, making it the fourth-largest NFIP flood event since 1978. In North Carolina, federal disaster DR-4827 covered much of the western part of the state, and FEMA approved about $567 million in individual and household assistance on 161,042 applications. FEMA assistance is limited and is not a substitute for insurance (FEMA disaster assistance vs insurance: what each pays).
Lesson one: flood is not covered, and inland owners learned it
Homeowners forms exclude flood. Helene's damage in western North Carolina, East Tennessee, upstate South Carolina and Georgia was largely rain and river flooding, and many affected owners lived outside mapped high-risk zones with no flood policy. South Carolina emergency officials reported that a year after Helene just over 368 NFIP policyholders in the state had filed flood claims, for $9.72 million paid, against damage across 33 counties. FEMA's own figures show that "nearly one-third" of NFIP claims from 2014 to 2024 came from outside high-risk zones (do you need flood insurance outside a high-risk zone?).
If you want flood cover, remember the timing. An NFIP policy generally takes effect after a 30-day waiting period, so it cannot be bought when a storm is in the Gulf (the 30-day flood insurance waiting period). The NFIP limits are $250,000 for a home and $100,000 for contents; if your house is worth more, ask about Excess flood insurance above NFIP limits. The flood insurance coverage gap calculator gives a rough starting point.
Lesson two: wind far inland is an ordinary claim, with ordinary deductibles
Helene's winds and tornadoes damaged roofs, trees and fences hundreds of miles from the Gulf. In South Carolina, Helene hit 33 counties with 21 tornadoes and hurricane-force gusts and damaged nearly 5,000 homes, according to the state's emergency management division. That wind damage belongs under a homeowners policy, not a coastal wind pool. Your deductible is whatever your policy says for that cause of loss, and some inland policies have a wind or hail percentage deductible that surprises owners. See wind and hail deductibles explained.
For Florida homes, the state's hurricane deductible rules matter. Florida law (section 627.4025) offers deductible options of $500, 2%, 5% or 10%, applies the hurricane deductible once per calendar year, and opens the window at a hurricane warning and closes it 72 hours after the last watch or warning ends. The "once per calendar year" rule helped owners hit by both storms: a Florida homeowner with a hurricane deductible generally pays it once for the year, not twice. Check how your policy and state define a hurricane occurrence (hurricane and named-storm deductibles explained).
Lesson three: wind versus water decides many disputes
After a hurricane, one house can have two causes of damage: wind that tore off shingles and rain or surge that flooded the first floor. Homeowners policies pay for the wind, flood policies pay for the flood, and adjusters must decide which did what. That is the root of the "wind vs water" disputes. Photograph the roof, the water line and the debris pattern before cleanup, and ask for the adjuster's causation notes in writing (wind vs water: the hurricane claim dispute, documenting damage: photos, video and receipts).
Lesson four: claim deadlines are short in Florida, uneven elsewhere
Florida's 2023 claim rules require an insurer to acknowledge a claim within 7 days, begin the inspection within 30 days and pay or deny within 60 days. Notice of a new or reopened claim is due within one year and a supplemental claim within 18 months. Other states vary, and several have no fixed day count (how long insurers have to pay a home claim). A second storm can complicate a first claim, so keep separate files for each event and report new damage as a new claim.
Lesson five: the second storm and the temporary repair
When a hurricane is days from landfall, you may be repairing last month's damage. Make reasonable temporary repairs to prevent further loss, keep receipts, and photograph before and after (reasonable repairs: what you can fix before the adjuster comes). Tell your adjuster which damage is old and which is new, since two storms can overlap on the same roof.
A checklist before the next storm
- Find your hurricane or wind deductible and calculate the dollar amount (hurricane and percentage deductible calculator).
- Check whether you have flood insurance, and when it started.
- Photograph the home inside and out, and store the files off-site.
- Save your policy number, your agent's contact and the insurer's claims line to your phone (hurricane and wildfire season insurance checklist).
- Read filing a homeowners claim after a hurricane now, not during the storm.
Key takeaways
- Insured losses were roughly $17.5 billion for Helene and $20.0 billion for Milton by Aon's count; Munich Re's figures were $16 billion and $25 billion.
- Most of Helene's inland damage was flood, which standard homeowners policies exclude; NFIP paid about $5.8 billion on 57,800 losses.
- Inland wind damage is an ordinary homeowners claim, with whatever deductible your policy sets.
- Florida applies a hurricane deductible once per calendar year; other states' triggers differ.
- Buy flood coverage at least 30 days before the season; photograph and document before cleanup.