Short answer: According to Fla. Stat. 627.701, a Florida residential hurricane deductible applies on an annual, calendar-year basis to all hurricane losses that year, not per storm. Insurers must offer deductible options of $500, 2%, 5%, and 10% of the dwelling limit, display the actual dollar amount of the hurricane deductible on the declarations page, and obtain your handwritten, signed statement before applying any deductible above 10%.
What does Florida Statute 627.701 do?
Fla. Stat. 627.701, titled "Liability of insureds; coinsurance; deductibles," sets the rules for how deductibles, especially the separate hurricane deductible, work on a Florida residential property policy. It controls how often the hurricane deductible can be charged, what options the insurer must offer, how the deductible must be disclosed, and what the insurer must do before applying an unusually large deductible.
How often does the hurricane deductible apply?
This is the provision policyholders most often get wrong. For personal-lines residential policies issued or renewed after May 1, 2005, the hurricane deductible applies on an annual basis to all covered hurricane losses that occur during the calendar year. It is a once-per-year deductible, not a once-per-storm deductible.
| Scenario | How the hurricane deductible applies |
|---|---|
| First hurricane of the year | Full hurricane deductible applies |
| Second hurricane, same calendar year | Only losses that exceed the remaining/already-satisfied deductible; you are credited for what you already absorbed |
| Non-hurricane loss (for example, a pipe burst) | Your standard "all other perils" (AOP) deductible applies instead |
Key takeaway: if two hurricanes hit in the same year, you should not pay the full hurricane deductible twice. Carriers sometimes apply it per event; documenting the prior year-to-date hurricane losses is how you get the credit the statute requires.
What deductible options must the insurer offer?
For a personal-lines residential policy, the insurer must make available hurricane deductible options of $500, 2 percent, 5 percent, and 10 percent of the policy's dwelling (Coverage A) limit, subject to the statute's terms. If you do not choose, the insurer must give you written notice of the deductible that will apply.
What must the insurer disclose?
- The insurer must compute and prominently display the actual dollar amount of the hurricane deductible on the declarations page, at issuance and at each renewal. A "2%" line means little until you see it is, say, $9,000 on a $450,000 dwelling.
- A policy with a separate hurricane deductible must carry a bold, 18-point warning that the policy contains a separate hurricane deductible that may result in high out-of-pocket costs.
- Any hurricane deductible greater than 10 percent requires the policyholder to personally write and sign a statement acknowledging the deductible, so a very high deductible cannot be buried in the paperwork.
How does 627.701 affect your claim?
- Confirm the loss is actually a "hurricane" loss as the policy defines it (typically tied to a National Hurricane Center-named system and a defined time window). The deductible label changes the math.
- If you have already had a hurricane loss earlier in the same calendar year, raise the annual-application rule so you are not charged the full deductible again.
- Check that the dollar figure the carrier subtracts matches the declarations-page amount, computed on the correct Coverage A limit.
How does Ocean Point apply this statute?
On every hurricane file we verify which deductible the policy actually requires, confirm the declarations-page dollar amount, and check the calendar-year history so a second-storm claim gets the annual credit the statute provides. Where a carrier tries to apply a hurricane deductible to a non-hurricane peril, or to charge it twice in one year, that is a documented, statute-based dispute, not a judgment call. Public adjuster fees in Florida are capped by Fla. Stat. 626.854.