FLOIR data: 34.8% of Milton claims and 32.3% of Helene claims, all lines, closed without payment; below deductible was the top reason. Four denial documents on file.
Per FLOIR’s catastrophe claims data, which FLOIR says is “fluid and will fluctuate over time as claims move through the insurers’ claims-handling process”: Hurricane Milton: 385,146 claims across all lines, 134,177 closed without payment, 34.8% (data as of Dec. 9, 2025). Hurricane Helene: 155,182 claims across all lines, 50,138 closed without payment, 32.3% (data as of June 10, 2025). Both totals include private passenger auto claims: 43,397 for Milton and 62,578 for Helene. Combined, roughly one in three of the 540,328 claims reported after the two storms ended with a $0 closure. For residential property policies alone the share is higher: 114,657 of 304,408 Milton claims (37.7%) and 37,951 of 72,037 Helene claims (52.7%).
Below deductible was the top reason
FLOIR’s breakdowns show the single largest closed-without-payment reason for both storms was below deductible, 38.5% of Milton’s closures and 30.4% of Helene’s. Flood exclusion accounted for 20.1% of Helene’s closures and 4.5% of Milton’s.
That distinction matters because a below-deductible closure is not a coverage denial. It is the carrier’s opinion that your damage costs less than your hurricane deductible, and it is only as good as the scope behind it. Percentage deductibles run 2% to 10% of your dwelling limit, so a $400,000 policy needs $8,000 to $40,000 of scoped damage before the first dollar; an estimate that stops at shingles stays under that line by construction. FLOIR defines a claim closed without payment as one “deemed not currently payable by the reporting insurer,” and its reasons include claims withdrawn by the insured and administrative closures, so not every closure in the category is a denial. The letters, though, all read the same to the homeowner holding one: no payment.
We collected the documents
This is what the denial documents are for: public documents in which a carrier’s denial language appears, every passage checked against the source before it publishes. Of the four below, one is the denial letter itself, two are news reports that quote a letter, and one is a policyholder’s Civil Remedy Notice filed with Florida DFS.
- The Citizens Milton closure, the letter quoted in local reporting: “no payment will be made regarding this claim.”
- The Liberty Mutual Milton partial denial, the complete letter free in a federal court record: wear and tear plus below deductible in one document.
- The $173,710 loss package answered with below-deductible, from a public DFS filing.
- The Helene surge denial whose own engineer report said the opposite, quoted in a ProPublica investigation.
Each entry says which kind of document it is, and links to the guide that answers its argument and to the legality test: Florida requires the decision to arrive within 60 days and to state the policy basis in writing.
What a $0 closure is worth in 2026
Filing windows for the 2024 storms have closed, but a filed claim that closed without payment can still move: the suit windows run to Sept. 26, 2029 (Helene) and Oct. 9, 2029 (Milton). Start with the letter itself, then the claim timelines, then a free case review if the numbers do not add up.
Not legal advice; confirm your dates and statutes with a licensed attorney. Sources: FLOIR Hurricane Milton (data as of Dec. 9, 2025) and Hurricane Helene (data as of June 10, 2025) catastrophe claims data; public records linked per document.
General information, not legal advice, laws and policies vary and change. Confirm current statutes and your own dates with a licensed attorney before acting.