Miami-Dade · guide
A hurricane season plan for your car's glass.
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Most hurricane advice for drivers starts after the wind has passed. This guide is for the weeks before: what to check on the policy while you still can, what to do about a crack you have been ignoring, and why a car that sits in floodwater is a different claim altogether.
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The calendar
Dates that shape a Miami storm season
Hurricane season and the rainy season overlap in South Florida, and the busiest weeks for each are not the same.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| June 1 | The Atlantic hurricane season opens |
| Late May to early July | The stormiest phase of the rainy season: damaging winds, lightning and flooding are most likely |
| Mid-August to mid-October | Most hurricane activity in the Atlantic |
| September 10 | The statistical peak of the hurricane season |
| Late August to mid-October | The rainy season's last phase, with rain swinging more because of tropical systems and early cold fronts |
| October 17 | Median end of the South Florida rainy season |
| November 30 | The hurricane season closes |
Before June 1
The policy check to do in May
Florida's Department of Financial Services says it plainly: insurance companies do not accept new applications or requests to increase coverage once a hurricane nears Florida. So the time to fix a gap is before anything is on the map. The department suggests talking to your agent before the season starts on June 1.
- Find the declarations page for each car in the household, not just the one you drive most.
- Look for comprehensive coverage. Some policies call it Other Than Collision, and older ones combined additional coverage. Wind-thrown debris and flooding are comprehensive claims, so a car without it has no cover for either.
- Note the comprehensive deductible. It does not apply to a windshield (§ 627.7288), but it does apply to a door window, back glass or sunroof broken in the same storm.
- Check for a glass add-on. If the policy has one, read what it says about side and rear glass.
- Save your insurer's claim number and app in your phone, next to our Miami line.
Your policy wording and your insurer decide every claim. If you want a second pair of eyes on the declarations page, call our Miami line, (305) 677-8371.
The crack you have been living with
Replace it while the sky is clear
A long crack across the windshield is easy to put off in March. It looks different when the county is telling people to leave. Miami-Dade orders evacuations by storm surge zone, or by part of a zone, depending on a storm's track and projected surge, and it asks residents to stay with family or friends who live inland outside an evacuation area where they can. For a lot of households that means a long drive in heavy traffic, through rain bands, in a car loaded to the roof.
Florida Statutes § 316.2952 requires a windshield with safety glazing on every car driven on public roads. It sets no crack length, so the practical test is whether the damage is in the driver's view or still growing. If yours is, the clear weeks of May and early June are the easy time to book. Once a storm is in the forecast, glass schedules across South Florida tend to fill, and windshield installs stop altogether when tropical-storm wind or rain arrives.
With comprehensive coverage, a covered windshield can have $0 Deductible with Comprehensive Coverage, so the cost of waiting is mostly the risk. Use the county's Storm Surge Planning Zone Finder to see whether your address is in a zone at all, and plan the drive from there.
Floodwater
A flooded car is not a glass job
Storm surge and street flooding do more damage to a car than broken glass can, and the claim works differently. The Department of Financial Services explains that flood damage to a vehicle is covered only if the policy has comprehensive coverage and does not exclude flood. It adds that flooded cars are often declared a total loss, and when an insurer does that, the title is branded as a flood vehicle with the state.
That is why we do not replace glass on a car that sat in floodwater until the insurer's adjuster has decided whether it will be repaired. New glass on a car that is about to be totaled helps nobody. If the water stayed below the doors and the only damage is a window that a branch went through, tell us what happened when you call and we work out the next step with you.
When a storm is coming
Where the car rides out the wind
- A closed garage is the best spot for the glass. Shared condo and apartment garages can fill up once a storm is forecast, so ask your building how spaces are handled before the season.
- In an open lot or a driveway, move the car away from palms, oaks and anything on a balcony or roof that can come loose.
- If the car has to stay outside, a spot beside a solid wall on the side away from the forecast wind takes fewer direct hits.
- Take a few photos of each car's glass before the storm. They help show the insurer what was already there.
- Keep the tank filled and the phone charger in the car in case you are told to leave.
After the all-clear
When the storm has passed
The steps after a storm, from keeping rain out of a broken window to photographing the damage before cleanup, are in our longer post on bangautoglass.com, linked below. When you are ready for the glass itself, send the VIN and a photo, and we come to the car once roads are open and the weather allows an install.
Cracked windshield before the season?
Book it while the weather is calm. We come to your home or work across Miami-Dade, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm.
Hurricane season glass questions
Ask our Miami line, (305) 677-8371. The (877) line, (877) 994-5277, is answered 24/7.
When is hurricane season in Miami?
The Atlantic season runs from June 1 to November 30. The National Hurricane Center puts the peak on September 10, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October.
Can I add comprehensive coverage when a hurricane is coming?
Usually not. Florida's Department of Financial Services says insurers do not accept new applications or requests to increase coverage once a hurricane nears Florida. Check the policy before June 1.
Is a windshield broken by hurricane debris covered?
On a policy with comprehensive coverage, storm debris is usually a comprehensive claim, and Florida's § 627.7288 means the deductible does not apply to the windshield. Door, back and sunroof glass take the normal deductible. Your insurer decides each claim.
Will you replace the glass on a car that was in a flood?
Not until the insurer's adjuster has decided the car will be repaired. Flooded cars are often declared a total loss, and then new glass would be wasted.
Should I replace a cracked windshield before I evacuate?
If the crack is in the driver's view or still spreading, yes, and as early in the season as you can. Once a storm is forecast, schedules tend to fill, and we do not install in tropical-storm wind or rain.
From Bang AutoGlass
More Miami storm guides
Miami car glass after the all-clear
The steps after the storm: rain covers, photos and the claim.
Miami Beach evacuation routes and a cracked windshield
The causeway drive off the beach, with a crack in the glass.
Things change. If something here is out of date, tell us on our Miami line, (305) 677-8371.
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