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April 29, 2025

Real Stories of Hurricane Recovery

Prepare your family and home for hurricanes and tropical cyclones.

Summary

Hurricanes are becoming more frequent and severe in the U.S., and homeowners need to pay attention and take action to understand their insurance coverage and effectively mitigate risks to their properties.
Many homeowners are unaware that standard policies may not provide the coverage they need in the event of a hurricane.
MMA Private Client Services offers a dedicated claims advocacy team during and after catastrophes strike. This professional team helps guide our clients through the complexities of insurance claims to maximize their coverage and ease the administrative burden.

Hurricanes are among the most destructive natural forces on the planet. They bring to mind the blaring sound of emergency alert sirens and dramatic sight of palm trees whipping in the wind and rain.

In the U.S., hurricanes are on the rise—both in terms of frequency and intensity. Last year, there were 27 events, each with recovery costs exceeding $1 billion in the U.S. To put that in perspective, that means there was a billion-dollar plus event every 13.5 days in 2024, a marked increase from one every 82 days in 1980.

Hurricanes make up a significant portion of these catastrophic events and have caused the most damage—over $1.5 trillion total, with an average cost of $23 billion per event. This staggering fact underscores the importance of taking robust hurricane preparedness measures to safeguard your family, valuables, collections, and home well before a hurricane making landfall.

The good news is that advancement s in hurricane forecasting and modeling have increased the ability to anticipate storm paths and intensities. However, the sheer power and unpredictability of hurricanes necessitate that we prepare and put in place measures to mitigate our risks.

Large, slow-moving hurricanes are expected to become more frequent and severe in the future, and these storms are most likely to cause flooding.

Hurricane Insurance 101: What you need to know

If you live in or near the path of hurricanes, it’s crucial to understand your insurance policy and the available coverages. Most insurance policies do not include flood coverage, and in hurricane-prone states, like Florida and Texas, policies may have increasingly higher wind deductibles. Given this be sure to double check:

Your unique risk profile regarding hurricanes
What your policy covers
Your wind deductible
Whether you need to secure additional flood coverage to protect your home

You don’t want to be caught unprepared in the midst of a hurricane, especially when it comes to personal protection or insurance. Unfortunately, many homeowners are simply unaware that their standard policy may not be enough or that their wind deductible may be sky high.

In a recent study, we found that 22% of high-net-worth individuals felt their exposure to natural disasters, like hurricanes, was growing. Yet across the U.S., only 15% of homeowners carry flood coverage. Our clients are better prepared with about 60% opting for primary flood coverage, and 33% purchasing excess flood coverage. for primary flood coverage, and 33% purchasing excess flood coverage.

Our team of experienced brokers can work with you to ensure you understand your unique risk profile and how to prepare for natural disasters, like hurricanes and tropical cyclones, to protect your home and valuables.

Authentic client advocacy experiences

Our team is actively engaged with our carrier partners before a hurricane makes landfall. We track the storm's path and projected impact, communicating regularly with our clients. Throughout the event—and especially in its aftermath—we stay informed about the responses and actions of local, state, and federal agencies. Often, specific guidelines are issued during these events that can significantly affect recovery efforts, and we strive to stay ahead of the curve.

The situation:

During Hurricane Helene, a large tree fell on our client’s roof, severely damaging their house.
There was widespread damage in the area; many roads were impassable, and resources to remove the tree were scarce.
Due to power outages, damaged cell towers, and network congestion, the only means of communication the client had was through a generous neighbor sharing their Wi-Fi.

Our solution:

To connect with our client, we arranged specific times to talk, allowing them to walk to their neighbor’s house for a signal. Thanks to our industry relationships, we were able to connect our client with a trusted arborist who promptly assisted in removing the tree, preventing further damage to our client’s home.

The situation:

Our client secured their Hinckley sailboat at their boatyard on jack stands in preparation for an approaching hurricane.
When the storm hit, winds exceeded 90 mph, and nearly three feet of rain fell.
The boatyard notified our client that their sailboat had floated off its stands during the hurricane.
Our client immediately contacted us on a Saturday morning to report the loss.

Our solution:

We quickly notified the insurer and arranged for a surveyor to assess the situation once the storm had passed.

When the surveyor arrived, he discovered that an eight-foot surge had caused the boat to float off its stands, and the high winds had blown it across the harbor. After the floodwaters receded, the boat came to rest atop a wooded hillside near a busy highway. Our client had a strong sentimental attachment to their boat and was anxious for its return and to know if it could be restored to its pre-loss condition.

To our client’s relief, their sailboat sustained only minor cosmetic damage. However, the boat's precarious position required careful planning for its recovery. Given that the boat was partially situated under a highway bridge, a helicopter lift was deemed unfeasible, and dragging the boat posed a risk of serious damage to the rudder.

After in-depth assessments, we decided to bring in a 50-ton crane for the lift, but this required closing the highway during the operation. Our surveyor and recovery team coordinated with state officials to secure the necessary permits, and the crane successfully lifted the boat without causing additional damage. Ultimately, the sailboat was returned to its home after the hull repairs were completed, allowing our client to enjoy their beloved boat once again.

We’re committed to providing proactive support and guidance to all our clients, ensuring they are as prepared as possible for the unexpected and can recover swiftly, no matter the situation.

After the Storm

Tackling the surge of paperwork

If you are impacted by a hurricane or any significant storm, our team of claims advisors can help you get organized and present your claim to your insurer in the best manner possible.

When a hurricane hits, it can uproot trees, flood your home, and shatter your peace of mind—the last thing you want is to try to recover from the storm alone. That’s where your insurance broker’s claims advocacy team can step in, turning chaos into clarity and ensuring you have qualified and professional support.

Our claims team knows the power of advocacy firsthand and can walk you through how it works and why it’s a game-changer during a disaster like a hurricane.

First, we can be your voice in the storm.

Hurricanes leave behind a mess—both literal and logistical. Your roof might be in your neighbor’s yard, and your insurer’s helpline might be a maze of hold music and vague promises. A claims advocate cuts through that noise. They are professionally fluent in policy-speak who can step up to negotiate with the carrier on your behalf.

Imagine you have a beach house that took a direct hit from a Category 3 storm—water damage, wind-torn shingles, the works. Your advocate reviewed your policy, spotted coverage for temporary housing the insurer initially overlooked, and got it approved fast. Without that push, you could’ve been stuck footing a hotel bill for weeks on end.

Second, our work can expedite the process.

Time is everything after a hurricane. The longer you wait for a payout, the harder it is to rebuild. Advocates know this and hit the ground running. They file claims promptly, chase down adjusters, and facilitate communications, moving your claim forward.

We’ve seen cases where our clients received payments for their flooded homes in half the time because their advocate flagged delays with the carrier’s inspection team and escalated it to the proper people. It’s not just about persistence—it’s about knowing who to call and what to say to keep a claim moving forward.

Third, we can help you maximize your coverage.

Insurance policies are thick with fine print, and hurricanes test every line of it—wind vs. flood damage, deductibles, exclusions, and more.

Take a family whose garage collapsed under storm debris. The insurer tried to lowball the repair cost, claiming it was “pre-existing wear.” As our client, their advocate pulled weather data, consulted engineers, and proved it was hurricane-related—tripling the settlement. That’s the difference between a patched-up fix and a proper rebuild. When it is your home on the line, you care that it is properly rebuilt.

Fourth, we can help manage the chaos of the aftermath.

Hurricanes don’t hit just one home—they hit entire communities. Carriers get swamped, and individual claims can slip through the cracks. Advocates manage the chaos, coordinating with public adjusters, contractors, and even temporary housing providers so you’re not juggling a dozen contacts while wading through water inside your home.

One client, post-hurricane, had their advocate sync up debris removal and carrier approvals in a single week, something that might’ve taken a month to do alone.

Finally, we can provide you with peace of mind when it matters most.

Beyond the dollars and timelines, advocacy brings something priceless: calm in the storm. Knowing someone’s fighting for you—someone who gets the system and won’t back down—lets you focus on what matters, like keeping your family safe or salvaging what’s left. A client said to us, “I didn’t realize how much I needed an advocate until I had one.” That’s the real win: turning a disaster situation into a recovery story.

In a world where hurricanes are becoming increasingly unpredictable, being proactive is not just a choice; it’s a necessity. Let us help you prepare your home to weather any storm.

Schedule an insurance review with a Personal Risk Advisor ensure you have proper home, auto, and flood protection before the next hurricane hits.

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Real Stories of Hurricane Recovery

Summary

Hurricane Insurance 101: What you need to know

Authentic client advocacy experiences

The situation:

Our solution:

The situation:

Our solution:

After the Storm

Tackling the surge of paperwork

First, we can be your voice in the storm.

Second, our work can expedite the process.

Third, we can help you maximize your coverage.

Fourth, we can help manage the chaos of the aftermath.

Finally, we can provide you with peace of mind when it matters most.

Contributor

Robert Clemmons

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