Hurricane & Storm Damage Response
in Southwest Florida

We pre-stage crews, generators, tarps, board-up materials, and water extraction equipment ahead of named storms and begin dispatching from our Bonita Springs and Cape Coral locations as soon as Lee, Collier, and Charlotte county sheriff's offices reopen affected zones. For policyholders on file, we typically reach properties within 24-72 hours after a major landfall. After Ian we were on properties on the SWFL coast within days of access being restored. Priority sequence is life-safety hazards first, then weather-tight envelope (tarp and board-up), then water extraction and drying - because every hour without envelope protection compounds the secondary loss.

Yes - board-up is one of the first deliverables post-landfall, covering blown-out windows, breached doors, garage door failures, and wall openings from impact debris. We use 5/8-inch CDX plywood fastened to the substrate (not just to trim) with appropriate fasteners and structural screws, sized to NOAA wind-load guidance. Board-up is a covered emergency mitigation expense under virtually every Florida HO policy and under NFIP for flood claims, billed separately from reconstruction. We document each opening with photos and dimensions so the adjuster has a clean line-item for both the temporary board-up and the eventual permanent repair.

Emergency roof tarping is the temporary weather barrier installed over breached roof areas - missing shingles, displaced tile, exposed decking, tree-impact punctures - to prevent ongoing water intrusion until permanent repair. We use heavy reinforced poly tarps (typically 6 mil or heavier blue or silver) anchored with furring strips screwed through the tarp into the decking, lapped to shed water. Tarp size is matched to severity: small patches for localized breaches, full-slope tarps for major losses. Tarps are a covered emergency expense and typically hold 30-90 days depending on UV exposure - which is why they should be replaced with shrink-wrap or permanent repair before that point.

Yes - shrink-wrap is our preferred medium-term solution for major roof losses where permanent repair will be delayed by adjuster scheduling, structural engineering review, or material lead times. Heat-shrunk over the entire affected area and mechanically anchored, shrink-wrap holds 6-12 months versus the 30-90 days a poly tarp will last in SWFL UV exposure. It also performs dramatically better in subsequent wind events than tarps, which is what matters when a second storm follows the first - a real risk in active seasons. Shrink-wrap is a covered mitigation expense and is documented separately from permanent repair.

Water diversion is the active redirection of intruding water away from sensitive interior areas during ongoing weather - sandbags, plastic sheeting funnels into pump buckets, temporary berms, and trash-pump discharge lines run to exterior drainage. It buys time when tarping alone cannot keep up with rainfall rate, when ground saturation is pushing water under exterior walls, or when storm surge is receding but ground water is still elevated. Combined with simultaneous water extraction inside, diversion is what prevents Category 1 intrusion from saturating wall cavities and degrading into a much larger mold and reconstruction claim two weeks later.

Wind damage from a named hurricane is covered under standard Florida HO-3 and HO-5 policies, subject to a separate (and much higher) hurricane deductible - typically 2-10 percent of Coverage A. Storm-surge flooding is excluded from homeowners and requires NFIP or private flood coverage. Wind-driven rain that enters through a wind-created opening is generally covered; rain that enters through pre-existing roof or envelope wear is generally not. The wind-versus-flood determination is the single largest dispute in hurricane claims; we document the cause-of-loss carefully so Citizens, Florida Peninsula, Tower Hill, and NFIP adjusters have unambiguous evidence for their respective scopes.

Yes - we handle commercial storm response across SWFL for retail centers, medical and dental offices, multifamily, restaurants, light industrial, and hospitality. Commercial work brings additional considerations: business interruption coverage timing, ADA-compliant temporary repairs, expedited permitting for code-compelled upgrades under Florida Building Code 7th Edition, after-hours scheduling around tenant operations, and direct coordination with property managers, COIs, and master policy adjusters. We carry commercial general liability appropriate for larger scopes and coordinate with structural engineers and MEP consultants where storm damage triggers code-upgrade requirements. Substantial-damage determinations may also trigger the FEMA 50 percent rule in V-zones.

Yes - we work directly with condo and HOA boards, property managers, and master-policy adjusters across SWFL. Condo claims add complexity because the master policy typically covers the building shell (walls-in or walls-out depending on the declaration), while unit owners' HO-6 policies cover interior finishes and personal property. We scope and bill in a way that respects the line between association responsibility and unit-owner responsibility so the master-policy adjuster and HO-6 adjusters can settle their respective scopes without disputes. We also handle association RFP and board-approval processes for larger reconstruction.