There are two ways to link a story you find online
1. Copy the URL of the story, in this case
Florida hurricane deductibles leave customers with sticker shock and paste it into the body of your post.
2. Type a sentence in which you mention the story, then left click to highlight the important words in that sentence that the story amplifies.
For example.
HERE is a news report on hurricane deductibles.
I then left click highlight the word HERE, or I could highlight hurricane, or the whole sentence. Then go to the line of icons above where you are typing and find the one that looks like a blue globe with a single chain link on its lower right. Click that. A pop up will appear that says please enter the URL... paste the URL of your link into the box and save by clicking ok. Now if someone clicks on the highlighted part of your sentence which appears in a different color it takes them to the article.
Now to the meat of the story. Mr Friedlander per the written story, I didn't watch the video, said that a hurricane watch being issued triggered the provision of Florida law. It does not per the law itself which is linked in the story but I will link
HERE
The law is very clear that for your deductible to change from routine to that in your hurricane coverage several events must occur.
1. “Hurricane coverage” is coverage for loss or damage caused by the peril of windstorm during a hurricane.
IANAL but this seems clear to me to require that a hurricane happened, not just a watch or a warning but an actual hurricane
2. Reading on in the statute confirms this definition:
“Windstorm” for purposes of paragraph (a) means wind, wind gusts, hail, rain, tornadoes, or cyclones caused by or resulting
from a hurricane which results in direct physical loss or damage to property.
(c) “Hurricane” for purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b) means a storm system that has been
declared to be a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service. The duration of the hurricane includes the time period, in Florida:
1. Beginning at the time a hurricane warning is issued for any part of Florida by the National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service; and
2. Ending 72 hours following the termination of the last hurricane watch or hurricane warning issued for any part of Florida by the National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service.
This seems entirely reasonable. It also is clear that only damage from the hurricane is diverted to the hurricane deductible. If it is clear that your damage in the Keys is not part of the wide hurricane that came in from the Atlantic and touched Jacksonville with no bands reaching The Keys where a small unrelated hail event damaged your roof... regular deductible. If the warning was issued but a declared hurricane never happened... regular deductible. The issuance of a watch does not matter for the start time of the storm.
The story in the Tampa news is misleading as it suggests that the man's damage was not hurricane related because the time the storm was a hurricane was after it passed over his house. But it did become a hurricane while still over Florida (although this may apply even if the criteria for hurricane are reached after leaving Florida) thus any damage from that storm from the time a warning (not a watch) was issued until the last watch is cancelled devolves to the hurricane deductible.