48 Hours Before a Hurricane: The Homeowner Checklist That Also Protects Your Claim
With 48 hours: video-document the entire house first (the single most-skipped step — and the one your insurance claim will live on), then secure projectiles, clear water paths, fill containers, charge everything, and learn your three shutoffs. Evacuation orders override everything below. Here’s the hour-by-hour version, including the claim-protecting moves most checklists miss.
T-48 to T-36: The Documentation Hour (Do This First)
- Video walkthrough of every room — open closets, pan ceilings and floors, narrate the date. Then the exterior: every side, the roof from the ground, fences, AC condenser, recent work close-ups.
- Photograph serial numbers of major appliances/electronics; screenshot your policy declarations page; note your insurer’s claim phone number on paper.
- Check your deductibles now: many coastal policies carry a separate hurricane/named-storm deductible of 2–10% of dwelling coverage — on a $400k house that’s $8,000–$40,000, not the $1,000 you remember. Knowing it changes post-storm decisions.
- Cloud-upload all of it. This hour converts every future claim dispute from “prove it existed” to “here’s the video.”
T-36 to T-24: Outside Work (While It’s Still Safe)
- Projectiles in or down: patio furniture, grills, trampolines, potted plants, trash cans — garage them or tie them down; a 100-mph wind makes everything a missile
- Clear gutters, downspouts, and yard drains — most “hurricane” water damage is rain that couldn’t drain
- Trim the obvious widow-makers if a pro is still available (emergency tree rates spike post-storm; dead limbs over the roof are cheap now, catastrophic later)
- Shutters or plywood up (5/8” exterior-grade, screwed not nailed); garage door braced — it’s the #1 structural failure point in hurricanes
- Car: full tank, parked in the garage or away from trees, not in a flood-prone dip
T-24 to T-12: Inside and Systems
- Know your three shutoffs: water main, gas valve, electrical main — label them now, photos on your phone
- Fridge/freezer to coldest, freeze water bottles (they hold cold and become drinking water); a quarter-on-frozen-water-cup tells you later if food thawed
- Fill bathtubs and containers — flushing and washing water if mains fail
- Charge everything, including power banks; download offline maps; cash from the ATM (card readers die with the grid)
- Generator rules, pre-committed: outdoors only, 20+ feet from windows, never in a garage — carbon monoxide kills more people than storm surge in some events; CO detector batteries fresh
T-12 to Landfall: Final Positions
- Safe room chosen: interior, lowest floor (no-flood zones), no windows
- Water heater topped and breaker located (it’s 40–50 gallons of emergency water via the drain valve)
- AC pre-cool the house hard, then expect to lose it; unplug sensitive electronics
- If surge/flooding threatens and authorities advise: power off at the main before water arrives — energized circuits underwater are the electrical emergency you can’t fix later
After: The Three Claim-Protecting Rules
- Photograph everything before touching anything — then tarp and mitigate (it’s reimbursable, and required)
- The door-knockers arrive with the chainsaws: every “free inspection” signature gets the storm-chaser screen, and nobody touches your claim except you or a licensed public adjuster — in Florida, AOBs on new policies are banned outright
- File fast and track deadlines: Florida now requires initial claims within 1 year (supplements within 18 months — how supplements work); other coastal states have their own clocks
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the most important hurricane prep step homeowners skip? The pre-storm video walkthrough. Post-storm claims become arguments about what existed and its condition — 30 minutes of dated video ends those arguments before they start.
What is a hurricane deductible? A separate, percentage-based deductible (commonly 2–10% of dwelling coverage) that applies to named-storm damage instead of your flat deductible. Check your declarations page — the number surprises most coastal homeowners.
Does homeowners insurance cover flooding from a hurricane? No — rising water is flood insurance (NFIP or private), a separate policy with a 30-day waiting period. Wind and wind-driven rain through storm damage are homeowners territory; storm surge is flood. This split decides entire claims.
Should I tape my windows? No — tape does nothing structural and creates larger glass shards. Shutters or properly screwed plywood, or nothing.
When should I run the generator? Only after the storm, outdoors, 20+ feet from any opening, never in a garage even with the door open. CO poisoning is a leading post-hurricane killer — the rule has no exceptions.
Last updated: June 10, 2026. Sources: FEMA/Ready.gov hurricane preparedness; NOAA National Hurricane Center; Insurance Information Institute (hurricane deductibles, flood vs. wind); Fla. Stat. § 627.70132 (claim deadlines). Evacuation orders override every item on this list.