The 12-point inspection we run before every storm season — what you can safely check yourself, what needs a professional, and what to photograph while the roof is still intact.
Do this before June 1
The single highest-value thing you can do is get a professional inspection and photograph your roof while it's still intact. After a storm, the question is never "is there damage?" — it's "was this damage pre-existing?" Pre-storm photos settle that instantly.
Look for lifted or curled shingle tabs, granules collecting in gutters, and dark patches that suggest missing shingles exposing black underlayment. Never walk the roof yourself.
Ridge caps are the first thing to go in wind. Look for missing caps, exposed nails, or caps sitting crooked. This is the most common wind-damage failure point.
Negative pressure concentrates at roof corners and edges. If shingles are lifting anywhere, it will be here first. Photograph anything suspect.
Blocked gutters back water up under the drip edge and rot the fascia. Clear them before storm season, not during.
Limbs that overhang the roof become projectiles. Oak limbs are especially dangerous — they don't break, they act as battering rams.
Patio furniture, grills, planters, trampolines. Anything that can become airborne at 100 mph.
Vents, skylights, satellite mounts, and plumbing boots. Sealant in Florida sun degrades in two to three years. Re-caulking is cheap; the rot from not doing it isn't.
Chimneys, valleys, wall terminations, and step flashing. Flashing failures cause the majority of interior leaks that aren't shingle-related.
Look for water staining, daylight through the deck, sagging sheathing, or damp insulation. A leak you find in June is a repair; one you find in September is a claim.
A 20-year-old shingle roof doesn't fail gracefully in a hurricane — it peels. If replacement is one or two years out, doing it on your schedule beats doing it on an emergency timeline at emergency prices.
Test-fit shutters now, in calm weather. Also confirm your hurricane deductible — Florida policies typically carry a separate 2% deductible, and knowing that number prevents a bad surprise.
Free with most Florida policies. It documents roof shape, attachment, and opening protection — the data points that generate premium discounts. Many homeowners leave hundreds of dollars a year on the table simply because their carrier lacks current documentation.
Put buckets down, move valuables, and photograph everything as it's happening. Call for emergency tarping — a tarp is not a repair, but it limits the interior damage that turns a roof claim into a roof-plus-interior claim. We're on call 24/7 during storm events.
Photograph damage before you move debris, before you tarp, before anything changes. Include wide shots showing the room or yard context and close shots showing detail. Timestamped photos are the backbone of every successful claim.
After every named storm, out-of-state crews arrive. Ask for a Florida license number, verify it, and check for a local physical address. Never sign a contract that assigns your insurance benefits to a contractor without talking to your attorney or carrier first.
A lot of hurricane prep content exists to scare you into a purchase. Most Tampa Bay roofs that are under 15 years old and properly installed do not need anything done before a storm beyond the basics above. What they need is documentation — so that if damage does happen, the process is straightforward.
Free, no obligation, and you'll get photos of your roof on file — the single most useful thing you can have when a storm hits.