The short version: photograph or video your entire home now, including the roof, attic, and serial numbers. Read your hurricane deductible, which is usually a percentage of insured value, not a flat amount. Know your wind versus flood split, because rising water is flood and wind-driven rain is wind. After the storm, mitigate, document, and be careful of solicitors who appear before the rain stops.
The deductible surprise
In coastal states, hurricane deductibles commonly run 1 to 5 percent of insured value. On a 400,000 dollar home, a 2 percent deductible is 8,000 dollars. Knowing that number before the season changes which claims are worth filing.
Wind versus flood, the line that decides everything
Wind-driven rain through a damaged roof is a wind claim. Storm surge and rising water are flood, covered only by a flood policy. After landfall, carriers and adjusters argue about which path the water took. Your photos of the damage while it is fresh are the evidence.