How do we handle an HOA insurance claim after a storm, step by step?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 24, 2026

An HOA storm claim playbook for boards: the first 72 hours, the adjuster visit, TX, FL and CO claim deadlines, contractor bids and public adjusters.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Protect the property from more damage, photograph everything before anyone cleans up, and report the loss to the carrier in writing within days, not weeks. Then name one director as the claim lead, keep a claim log, walk the property with the insurer's adjuster, and get your own contractor estimates. Sign no repair contract until the board has the carrier's estimate. Most of the money a board loses on a storm claim is lost in the first two weeks, through missing photos, a late report, or a contract signed with the first roofer who knocked on the clubhouse door. This guide assumes the board has already decided to file. If you are still weighing whether a loss is worth a claim, start with our guide on whether an HOA should file an insurance claim or pay out of pocket. Claim rules come from your policy, your state and your governing documents, and they vary. This is general education, not legal advice.

The first 72 hours

Property policies require the insured to take reasonable steps to keep damage from getting worse, and a carrier can refuse to pay for damage that spread because nobody acted. So tarp the roofs, board the broken windows, shut off water to a flooded building and get the standing water out. Before any of that starts, take photos and video of every damaged area, wide shots first and then close-ups, and keep the original files. Call the agent or the carrier's claim line and ask for a claim number, then send a short written notice by email the same day so you have a dated record. It can be this simple: 'The association reports storm damage on [date] at [address or buildings]. Known damage includes [roofs, fencing, a tree on the pool fence]. Emergency repairs are under way to prevent further damage. Please assign an adjuster and confirm the claim number in writing.' Keep every emergency invoice and receipt. Temporary repairs are usually reimbursable. Permanent repairs made before the adjuster sees the damage can cost you the claim.

Put one person in charge and keep a claim log

A storm claim can run six months or longer, and it goes badly when five directors each talk to the adjuster. At the first board meeting after the storm, name a claim lead, set a dollar limit for emergency work, and keep settlements and repair contracts as board decisions. A motion that works: 'The board appoints [director] as claim lead for the [date] storm loss, authorized to report the claim, meet the adjuster, and approve emergency mitigation up to $[amount]. Any repair contract, public adjuster agreement, appraisal demand or settlement requires a board vote.' The claim lead keeps a log with the claim number, the adjuster's name and license number, every call and email by date, each document sent and when, and each promise the carrier makes. Pull the policy declarations page on day one. The wind or hail deductible is often separate from the all-other-perils deductible, and it may be a percentage of insured value, so the board needs the real number before it can plan how to pay it.

The adjuster visit

Be there. Walk the adjuster to every damaged area on your list, including the ones that look minor, and bring a roofer or general contractor you trust, because the carrier's adjuster is estimating for the carrier. Answer questions about what happened, but do not guess about cause or age. 'I don't know when that started' is a fine answer. Ask when you will get the written estimate and what documents the carrier still needs. In Florida, the adjuster who inspects must give you a document with their name and state license number, and later messages about the claim must carry them too, under section 627.70131(3). Large claims often come with a proof of loss form, a sworn statement of the amount claimed. Note the deadline on the request, fill it in with your contractor's numbers, and have the board approve it before it goes back.

Deadlines that bind the carrier and the association

In Texas, Insurance Code section 542.055 gives the insurer 15 days after notice of the claim to acknowledge it, start investigating and ask for what it needs, or 30 business days for a surplus lines carrier. Section 542.056 then gives it 15 business days after it has everything it asked for to accept or reject the claim in writing, with up to 45 more days if it tells you why it needs them. Payment is due within 5 business days of acceptance under section 542.057. After a weather catastrophe or major natural disaster as defined by the commissioner, each deadline stretches by 15 days under section 542.059, and a carrier that misses them and owes the claim pays interest plus attorney's fees under section 542.060. For weather claims covered by chapter 542A, that interest is the judgment rate plus 5 percent, not the 18 percent that applies to other claims. If a weather claim ends in a lawsuit, section 542A.003 requires written notice at least 61 days before filing. In Florida, section 627.70132 bars a claim unless notice reaches the carrier within 1 year of the date of loss, or 18 months for a supplemental claim, and for storms the date of loss is the date NOAA verifies the event. Section 627.4025 counts a policy covering the common elements of an HOA as residential coverage, so under section 627.70131 the carrier must acknowledge your claim within 7 days and pay or deny it within 60 days, or owe interest. In Colorado, sections 10-3-1115 and 10-3-1116 bar an insurer from unreasonably delaying or denying a first-party claim and allow a suit for two times the covered benefit plus fees. Log every one of these dates.

Bids, the deductible and storm chasers

Get two or three written bids built on the same scope, and compare them with the carrier's estimate line by line. Differences in roof square counts, drip edge, ice and water shield, and code upgrades are where supplemental claims come from. Send the gaps to the adjuster in writing with the contractor's photos and measurements. Be wary of anyone who shows up after the storm offering to handle the claim for you. Texas Insurance Code section 4102.163 bars a contractor from acting as a public adjuster on a property it is or may be repairing, section 707.002 requires the insured to pay its deductible, and Business and Commerce Code section 27.02 makes it an offense for a contractor to promise to waive, absorb or rebate the deductible. In Florida, section 627.7152(13) voids an assignment of post-loss benefits under a residential or commercial property policy issued on or after January 1, 2023, so a contractor's assignment of benefits form does nothing on those policies. Plan for the deductible early. In a Colorado community created on or after July 1, 1992, CCIOA section 38-33.3-313(6) lets the association adopt a written claims and deductible policy and, when one loss damages more than one unit, assess owners a pro rata share of a deductible it paid. Check your own declaration before you assume your board can do the same.

Public adjusters, appraisal and counsel

A public adjuster works for the association and takes a percentage of the settlement. Consider one when the claim is large, the carrier's estimate is far below your bids, or no volunteer can run a six-month claim. Fees are capped by statute. Texas caps the commission at 10 percent of the settlement under Insurance Code section 4102.104. Florida caps it at 10 percent for claims made in the year after a declared state of emergency and 20 percent otherwise, and section 626.854 lets you cancel within 10 days of signing, or within 30 days after the date of loss for a declared emergency if that is later. Colorado's section 10-2-417 caps the fee at 10 percent after a catastrophic disaster, in the same subsection that bars collecting any fee before the claim settles, and gives the insured 72 hours after signing to rescind by mail to the insurer and the adjuster. When you and the carrier agree the loss is covered but disagree on the amount, check the policy for an appraisal clause, which lets each side pick an appraiser and has an umpire settle what they cannot. A denial, a coverage dispute, or a carrier that has stopped answering is the point to call association counsel. Our guide on how to hire an HOA attorney covers how to pick one.

A sample timeline and the owner update

Day 0 to 3: mitigate, photograph, report in writing, get the claim number. Day 3 to 10: board meeting, claim lead named, owner update sent, contractors called. Day 7 to 30: adjuster inspection, then bids and the carrier's estimate. Day 30 to 90: reconcile estimates, submit the proof of loss and any supplement, vote on the repair contract. Month 3 to 9: repairs, supplements for hidden damage, final payment, and the depreciation holdback if your policy pays replacement cost in two checks. Send owners a short update at each stage. Wording you can adapt: 'The association filed an insurance claim for the [date] storm, claim number [number]. The adjuster inspected on [date]. We are collecting contractor bids and expect the carrier's estimate by [date]. The wind deductible is $[amount], and the board will explain at its [date] meeting how it will be covered. Please do not sign contracts with roofers for association-maintained roofs. Report new leaks to [contact].'

Mistakes that shrink the check

Waiting a month to report because the damage looked small, then finding soaked insulation in November. Throwing out damaged materials before the adjuster saw them. Letting a contractor deal with the carrier for the association without a written agreement the board approved. Accepting the first estimate without comparing it to real bids. Depositing a check marked final without reading what it settles. Forgetting the recoverable depreciation, which many replacement cost policies pay only after the work is finished and invoiced within a deadline the policy sets. When the claim closes, file the photos, estimates, final invoices and warranties in the association's records, and send the completion date and cost to your reserve study provider so the next update resets that component.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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