Under Fla. Stat. § 627.701(3), insurers generally must offer personal-lines residential policyholders hurricane deductibles of $500, 2%, 5%, and 10% of the dwelling limit. The offers vary with the insured limit: for example, insurers need not offer the $500 option when the dwelling limit is at least $250,000; for limits from $1 million to under $3 million, they may offer 3% instead of 2%; and at $3 million or more, they need not offer 2%.
Standard Hurricane Deductible Options
- $500
- 2% of the dwelling limit
- 5% of the dwelling limit
- 10% of the dwelling limit
Which of these your insurer must offer depends on your dwelling limit, as described above.
The Deductible Applies Annually — Not Per Storm
The deductible applies on an annual basis to covered hurricane losses during the calendar year — not once per individual storm or necessarily once per hurricane season. If an earlier hurricane loss has already used part of the deductible, a later claim may be subject to the remaining hurricane deductible or the non-hurricane deductible, whichever is greater. The rule also coordinates losses under multiple policies from the same insurer or insurer group.
Commercial Residential Policies
For commercial residential policies, the insurer must offer a choice between an annual deductible and one that applies to each hurricane. Fla. Stat. § 627.701(5).
If you’re unsure how your hurricane deductible applies to a current or past claim — especially after more than one storm in the same year — we can help you work through it. This issue often comes up alongside Hurricane & Storm Damage Claims, where we help policyholders push back on carrier tactics beyond just the deductible.
This article describes a statewide statutory requirement. A particular claim still depends on your policy language, the cause and extent of damage, and the facts of your situation.