The clean-up from Hurricane Helene is far from over, and now communities across the state are dealing with widespread damage from Hurricane Milton’s wrath.When Milton roared across Central Florida Wednesday night into Thursday morning, Tony Saldana was at his home in Polk County.That house fared much better than his other home in Mount Dora.”I noticed when I came here this whole tree is knocked down,” Saldana said.While he does not know the extent of the damage to the home, Saldana wasted no time contacting his insurance company. “I did call the claims, and the process is being started,” he said.According to data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, nearly 44,000 insurance claims have already been filed since Milton’s landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in Siesta Key. The estimated price tag for the damage so far is almost $600 million.“If you can’t get access to your property right now, that’s fine; doesn’t mean you can’t start the claim process,” said Mark Friedlander, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute.Compared to Hurricane Helene, which brought a catastrophic storm surge along much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, Friedlander said Milton caused much more wind damage across the peninsula. In some locations, there was destruction from an unprecedented outbreak of tornadoes.”The overall scope of the wind damage should not be as severe as what we saw with Ian,” Friedlander said, “but will be larger than what we’ve seen previously this year.”The worst-case scenario for the state’s property insurance market may have been avoided because Tampa Bay did not take a direct hit. However, there is still significant street flooding from Milton’s torrential rainfall in the Tampa area and throughout Central Florida.“And that’s why it’s so important to have flood insurance in Florida; hurricanes don’t just cause wind damage,” Friedlander said.Friedlander urges to provide as much documentation as possible when filing claims. He added they should submit photos showing what a home looked like before and after Hurricane Milton.While the large tree still needs to be cut up and removed, Saldana said he feels fortunate that it came crashing down.“Well, this house is actually being sold,” he said, “so I felt pretty lucky that the house is still standing.”The updated estimated insured losses from Helene are $1.1 billion, and Ian’s have surpassed more than $21.3 billion.
The clean-up from Hurricane Helene is far from over, and now communities across the state are dealing with widespread damage from Hurricane Milton’s wrath.
When Milton roared across Central Florida Wednesday night into Thursday morning, Tony Saldana was at his home in Polk County.
That house fared much better than his other home in Mount Dora.
“I noticed when I came here this whole tree is knocked down,” Saldana said.
While he does not know the extent of the damage to the home, Saldana wasted no time contacting his insurance company.
“I did call the claims, and the process is being started,” he said.
According to data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, nearly 44,000 insurance claims have already been filed since Milton’s landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in Siesta Key. The estimated price tag for the damage so far is almost $600 million.
“If you can’t get access to your property right now, that’s fine; doesn’t mean you can’t start the claim process,” said Mark Friedlander, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute.
Compared to Hurricane Helene, which brought a catastrophic storm surge along much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, Friedlander said Milton caused much more wind damage across the peninsula. In some locations, there was destruction from an unprecedented outbreak of tornadoes.
“The overall scope of the wind damage should not be as severe as what we saw with Ian,” Friedlander said, “but will be larger than what we’ve seen previously this year.”
The worst-case scenario for the state’s property insurance market may have been avoided because Tampa Bay did not take a direct hit. However, there is still significant street flooding from Milton’s torrential rainfall in the Tampa area and throughout Central Florida.
“And that’s why it’s so important to have flood insurance in Florida; hurricanes don’t just cause wind damage,” Friedlander said.
Friedlander urges to provide as much documentation as possible when filing claims. He added they should submit photos showing what a home looked like before and after Hurricane Milton.
While the large tree still needs to be cut up and removed, Saldana said he feels fortunate that it came crashing down.
“Well, this house is actually being sold,” he said, “so I felt pretty lucky that the house is still standing.”
The updated estimated insured losses from Helene are $1.1 billion, and Ian’s have surpassed more than $21.3 billion.
Alice J. Roden started working for Trending Insurance News at the end of 2021. Alice grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. A writer with a vast insurance industry background Alice has help with several of the biggest insurance companies. Before joining Trending Insurance News, Alice briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers home, renters and other property insurance stories.