Helene's water was flood, which no homeowners policy covers; Milton's wind fell under the hurricane deductible, which Florida applies once per calendar year with the same insurer. Sinkhole loss is an optional coverage that matters more here than in most of the state. A non-renewal takes 120 days' written notice, and Citizens is open only when no private insurer will write the home or the private price is more than 20 percent higher.
What Helene and Milton showed about a Tampa Bay policy
Hurricane Helene came ashore near Perry, in the Big Bend, late on September 26, 2024, and never crossed Tampa Bay. The National Hurricane Center's report still puts storm surge inundation of 5 to 7 feet above ground from the Anclote River to Longboat Key and inside the bay. The St. Petersburg tide station, with records back to 1947, read 6.31 feet above mean higher high water, well over the previous record of 3.97 feet set by Hurricane Elena in 1985; the Clearwater gauge passed its mark from the March 1993 storm. The report counts twelve drownings in Pinellas County and at least 419 homes destroyed across Pinellas and Hillsborough.
Hurricane Milton made landfall on Siesta Key on the evening of October 9 as a Category 3 storm. With the wind blowing offshore north of the center, Tampa Bay saw only 1 to 2 feet of inundation, but the report notes that a track less than 30 nautical miles farther north would have pushed a significant surge into the bay. What the area got instead was wind and rain: 20.40 inches measured near St. Petersburg, record crests on the Hillsborough River, and the fabric roof torn off Tropicana Field.
- Helene's waterSurge is flood. A homeowners policy does not pay for it, with or without a hurricane deductible. Only a flood policy does.
- Milton's windWind damage from a declared hurricane falls under the hurricane deductible, which section 627.701 requires insurers to offer at five hundred dollars, 2, 5 or 10 percent of the dwelling limit.
- Two hurricanes, one yearThe same section applies the hurricane deductible once per calendar year with the same insurer. For a second hurricane the insurer may apply the greater of what remains of it or the ordinary deductible, and it can ask you to report losses that fell below it.
- Milton's rainRain that comes in through wind-damaged roofing is normally handled with the wind claim. River and street water that rises into the house is flood.
More: how the Florida hurricane deductible works.
Evacuation zone, flood zone and the flood policy
Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa say the same thing on their own pages: an evacuation zone and a flood zone are different designations. Evacuation zones, lettered A to E in Hillsborough, mark where storm surge can reach and who may be ordered out. Flood zones are FEMA's, they describe flood risk in any season, and they are what a lender and a flood insurer look at. A home can sit outside every evacuation zone and still be in a high-risk flood zone because of a pond or stream. The county redrew its evacuation map in 2022 and published changes again for 2026, so check the letter you remember.
FEMA states that most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage. Flood is its own policy, from the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood insurer, and the federal policy normally takes effect 30 days after purchase. Citizens already requires flood coverage on its wind policies inside special flood hazard areas, and from January 1, 2027 on every such policy whatever the dwelling value. See when flood insurance is required in Florida.
Sinkholes: Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando
The Florida Geological Survey's 2017 statewide sinkhole study, written for the Division of Emergency Management, draws several of its cases from this area. A collapse sinkhole in Seffner took a man's life on February 28, 2013; it was filled, and it reopened in August 2015. In January 2010, nine freezing nights of heavy groundwater pumping to protect strawberry fields around Dover and Plant City set off a cluster of sinkholes. Tropical Storm Debby's record rain in June 2012 opened hundreds across the state, and the Survey's photograph of that event is from Spring Hill in Hernando County. On the Pasco and Hernando county line in 1998, work on one irrigation well triggered hundreds of collapses in six hours.
Section 627.706 requires every authorized insurer to cover catastrophic ground cover collapse, which needs all four of these: an abrupt collapse, a depression visible to the naked eye, structural damage including the foundation, and a government order to vacate. Cracks and settling short of that are sinkhole loss, a separate coverage the insurer must make available for an added premium, may inspect for first, and may write with its own deductible of 1, 2, 5 or 10 percent of the dwelling limit. The same section allows an insurer to non-renew a policy in order to remove sinkhole coverage, with notice that this is the reason and an offer of a policy that keeps the collapse coverage. Citizens says it has received more than 15,000 sinkhole-related claims since 2006 and requires a sinkhole inspection in certain cases before adding the option. I ask for every quote here with and without it.
The notice, the roof and the wind report
Section 627.4133 gives a homeowner at least 120 days' written notice of a non-renewal, with the reason stated; non-payment is ten days. After hurricane or wind damage under a declared emergency and an order of the Insurance Commissioner, an authorized insurer may not cancel or non-renew until 90 days after the home is repaired. Claims from an act of God cannot be the cause unless the insurer shows you did not do what it reasonably asked to prevent a repeat. Details: Florida non-renewal rules.
If the letter names the roof, section 627.7011 bars a refusal based solely on age when the roof is under 15 years old, and for an older roof lets you obtain an inspection showing at least five years of useful life (roof age rules). Section 627.0629 requires insurers to file discounts for roof covering, roof-to-wall connections and opening protection; a wind mitigation inspection documents them. As of November 2026 the My Safe Florida Home site shows inspections and grants available for owner-occupied, homesteaded, site-built homes.
When Citizens is open to a Tampa Bay home
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation writes a home only when no private company will offer coverage at its approved rates, or the private premium is more than 20 percent above Citizens' for comparable coverage, checked through its Clearinghouse and again at each renewal. In Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco its homeowners form stops below a dwelling amount of seven hundred thousand. The form limits accidental water discharge, has no water backup coverage, and leaves sinkhole loss out unless it is added. Homes more than 20 years old need a four-point inspection, and a shingle roof older than 25 years needs a report showing five years of life left.
Claim deadlines and state help
Under section 627.70132 notice of a claim must reach the insurer within one year of the date of loss and a supplemental claim within 18 months; for a hurricane the date of loss is the landfall date. Counted from the 2024 landfalls, both periods have run for Helene and Milton, so a new claim now is a matter for a Florida attorney, not a broker. The Department of Financial Services helps with insurer problems at 1-877-693-5236, and the Florida Market Assistance Plan is a free referral service to agents who place homes with authorized insurers. More: Florida claim deadlines.
What I need to quote
The non-renewal or renewal notice, the declarations page, the address and year built, the roof's material and the year it was last fully replaced, and any wind mitigation, four-point or sinkhole reports. Tell me what Helene and Milton did to the house, what was claimed and what has been repaired, including any sinkhole claim or repair on the property. Add the flood policy and elevation certificate if you have them. The notice and the declarations page are enough to start.
Common questions
Who insures a home in Tampa or St. Petersburg after a non-renewal?
Other authorized insurers first, then surplus lines insurers, then Citizens Property Insurance if no private offer exists or the private price is more than 20 percent above Citizens' for comparable coverage. A broker documents that comparison before Citizens writes the policy.
Did homeowners insurance cover Hurricane Helene's storm surge in Tampa Bay?
No. Surge is flood, and homeowners policies do not cover flood damage. It is paid by a separate flood policy from the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood insurer.
Did I owe two hurricane deductibles for Helene and Milton?
Not two full ones with the same insurer. Florida applies the hurricane deductible once per calendar year; for a second hurricane the insurer may apply the greater of the unused part or the policy's ordinary deductible.
Is sinkhole damage covered on a home in Hillsborough or Pasco County?
Only catastrophic ground cover collapse is automatic, and it requires an abrupt collapse, a visible depression, structural damage and a government order to vacate. Broader sinkhole loss coverage is optional, costs more, and may need an inspection first.
Is my evacuation zone the same as my flood zone in Tampa?
No. Hillsborough County's evacuation zones A to E mark storm surge reach for evacuation orders, while FEMA flood zones describe flood risk year-round and drive lender and flood insurance requirements. A home can be in one and not the other.
Can a Florida insurer non-renew my Tampa home right after hurricane damage?
Not while it is being repaired. After hurricane or wind damage under a declared emergency and a Commissioner's order, an authorized insurer has to wait until 90 days after the repairs are complete, and any non-renewal takes 120 days' written notice.
General information about home insurance in Tampa Bay (Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties) as of November 2026, not legal advice. Florida statutes, Citizens rules, evacuation maps and program funding change; the policy and the insurer's filed rules control. Flood is never part of a homeowners policy and needs its own policy. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.