The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has launched a public-facing website to provide updated data on hurricane insurance claims, showing that most claims closed without payment were due to damage not exceeding deductibles or stemming from uncovered flood losses.
The release follows scrutiny over insurer practices in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
According to OIR, the data aims to bring greater transparency to the claims process and address concerns raised by policyholders and advocates, including accusations of widespread unjustified claim denials. The agency said available figures do not support those claims.
“OIR takes any alarming claims of insurer misconduct seriously and I have asked my office to profusely inspect all closed claims without payment data,” Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky said. He noted that if the department identifies any questionable practices, it will hold insurers accountable.
For Hurricane Milton, insurers closed 81.7% of the 343,789 total claims filed across multiple lines, including personal and commercial property, auto, private flood, and business interruption, as of February 28. Of these, 35,043 claims remained open without payment, while 27,894 were still open with payment.
Among the 121,985 closed-without-payment claims related to Milton, 41% involved damage that fell below policy deductibles. An additional 4% were denied due to flood damage, which is typically excluded from standard homeowners insurance. Nearly 23% were denied for reasons other than flooding.
For Hurricane Helene, data showed that about 88% of claims were paid. Of the 46,656 claims closed without payment, 33.2% were attributed to sub-deductible damage, 20.3% to flood exclusions, and 18.8% to other coverage issues.
The regulator also noted that many policyholders must submit a denial letter from their property insurer to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) before becoming eligible for federal flood coverage. This requirement may contribute to an increased number of claims being formally closed without payment after a storm.
The OIR estimates that total insured losses from Hurricane Milton reached $4.27 billion, while losses from Helene amounted to $2.39 billion. These figures include claims across property, auto, private flood, and business interruption lines.
While Florida has garnered significant attention for the volume of unpaid insurance claims following Hurricanes Milton and Helene, other states have also experienced notable challenges.
North Carolina was among the hardest-hit states, with Hurricane Helene causing approximately $59.6 billion in damages and resulting in 105 deaths.
The state differs from Florida as a significant portion of the damage was due to inland flooding, particularly in areas like Asheville, where less than 1% of homes had flood insurance coverage.
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