Short answer: Southwest Florida public adjusters are licensed adjusters who represent property owners, not insurance companies, on hurricane, storm surge, flood, roof, water and other claims. Homeland Public Adjusters has served Florida property owners since 2006, from Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Naples to Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota and Bradenton, with local lines in the 239 and 941 area codes, 24/7. No Recovery, No Fee.
Homeland Public Adjusters represents homeowners, condominium associations, landlords and businesses across Southwest Florida: Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee counties on the Gulf coast, and Hendry and Glades counties inland. Southwest Florida’s claims are hurricane wind and storm surge on the same building, flood losses in the Gulf-front flood zones, canal-front homes in Cape Coral, barrier-island condominiums, manufactured homes, and seasonal homes that sat closed when the storm came through. If you have damage, call Homeland first: we inspect, document the loss, notify your insurer for you and negotiate the claim. No Recovery, No Fee. Call 24/7.
Last reviewed: October 2026
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Why Southwest Florida Claims Are Different
Southwest Florida is low, flat and built along the water. When a hurricane comes up the Gulf, the same house can take wind damage to the roof and storm surge through the ground floor within a few hours, and those two losses are covered by two different policies: wind under the homeowners or condominium policy, surge and rising water under NFIP or private flood insurance. Along the Gulf, much of the shoreline is mapped in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (zones AE and VE), and the City of Cape Coral says most of its residents live in one. Cape Coral’s canal-front homes add seawalls, docks, boat lifts and pool cages, each with its own coverage question. The barrier islands, from Longboat Key and Siesta Key to Sanibel, Fort Myers Beach and Marco Island, are lined with condominium buildings insured on master policies with percentage hurricane deductibles. Manufactured-home parks, inland and on the coast, raise tie-down and roof-over questions. And many homes here are seasonal: owners are up north when the storm hits, and water damage spreads for weeks before anyone opens the door. The disputes we see most: wind damage called flood (or flood called pre-existing), an anti-concurrent causation clause used to deny the wind portion, roofs underscoped next to a surge-gutted interior, and delayed-discovery water losses in closed-up homes.
Hurricane Ian, Helene and Milton: What Happened to Southwest Florida Claims
Hurricane Ian made its first Florida landfall at Cayo Costa, a barrier island in Lee County, on September 28, 2022, as a strong Category 4 storm, then a second landfall near Punta Gorda. Its surge reached 6 to 9 feet above ground at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee and in Naples. Two years later, Southwest Florida took two storms in two weeks: Hurricane Helene passed offshore and came ashore in the Big Bend near Perry on the night of September 26, 2024, but still pushed 3 to 6 feet of surge onto the coast from Venice to Bonita Beach; then Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key on October 9, 2024, as a Category 3 storm. The table below lists what the official reports say for each county.
| County | Hurricane Ian (Sept 28, 2022) | Hurricane Helene (Sept 26, 2024) | Hurricane Milton (Oct 9, 2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee (Fort Myers, Cape Coral) | First landfall at Cayo Costa; 52,514 structures affected, 5,369 destroyed; 5–8 ft surge in Fort Myers | Fort Myers river gauge 5.12 ft above MHHW; at least 102 Fort Myers structures damaged | FEMA Individual Assistance designated (FEMA-4834-DR) |
| Collier (Naples, Marco Island) | About $2.2 billion countywide damage; Naples Pier gauge 6.18 ft above MHHW before it was destroyed | 2–4 ft surge in Naples, Marco Island and Everglades City | About $280 million property damage; 88 structures with major damage |
| Charlotte (Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte) | Second landfall near Punta Gorda; at least 200 homes destroyed | 8 structures destroyed, 1,900 with major damage | 5–8 ft surge into northern Charlotte Harbor |
| Sarasota (Sarasota, Venice) | 78,171 claims, 21,181 closed without payment (OIR, Mar 2025) | 4–6 ft surge from Venice to south of Englewood | Landfall near Siesta Key; 31,786 claims, 9,434 closed without payment |
| Manatee (Bradenton) | FEMA Individual Assistance designated (FEMA-4673-DR) | Longboat Key sensor: 6.68 ft storm tide above MHHW | 38,535 claims, 10,214 closed without payment; gusts to 102 mph at Sarasota/Bradenton airport |
MHHW is mean higher high water, the average daily high tide; surge “above ground” is how deep the water stood on land. Claim counts are from the Office of Insurance Regulation; the Milton counts are as of December 2025. A claim closed without payment is not necessarily a correct denial: in Florida it can be reopened within one year of the date of loss, and a supplemental claim for damage found later can be filed within 18 months (§627.70132). For Milton (landfall October 9, 2024) the supplemental window ran to April 2026; for Ian it has closed, but open claims and litigation continue. Homes hit by both Helene’s surge and Milton’s wind have two dates of loss and often two carriers; we separate the two losses with the physical evidence and build both claims to the same facts.
Sources: NHC, Hurricane Ian report · NHC, Hurricane Helene report · NHC, Hurricane Milton report · NWS Miami, Milton impact narratives · NWS Tampa Bay, Milton impact narratives · Florida OIR, Hurricane Ian claims by county (Mar 2025) · Florida OIR, Hurricane Milton claims by county (Dec 2025) · FEMA, FEMA-4834-DR damage assessment · Federal Register, FEMA-4673-DR · Collier County damage assessment, as reported by WINK News (Oct 19, 2022)
Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Lee County
Lee County took Ian’s first landfall and its heaviest surge. The National Hurricane Center reports that the surge reached 5 to 8 feet above ground along the Caloosahatchee in Fort Myers, reversing the river’s flow, and 6 to 9 feet in Pine Island and Cape Coral at the river’s mouth; on Fort Myers Beach alone, about 900 structures were destroyed. Lee County claims are almost always two claims: a flood claim for the surge line and a wind claim for the roof, windows, lanai and pool cage above it. Cape Coral’s canal homes add seawall, dock and boat-lift questions, and many of the county’s homes are seasonal. Our Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Lee County pages carry the (239) line; see also flood damage.
Local lines: Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Lee County, (239) 414-3777.
Naples, Marco Island and Collier County
Collier County’s own assessment after Ian found about $2.2 billion in damage, with the City of Naples reporting $989 million on its own and Marco Island $256 million. Ian’s surge flooded Naples 6 to 9 feet above ground; Milton two years later brought moderate to major coastal flooding along most of the Collier coast. Naples and Marco Island are condominium markets: high-rise and mid-rise buildings on master policies, where the association’s deductible, the unit owner’s HO-6 policy and the flood policy all have to line up. See condo and HOA associations and our Naples and Collier County pages.
Local lines: Naples and Collier County, (239) 414-3777.
Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and Charlotte County
Charlotte County has taken two direct hits since 2004: Hurricane Charley’s eye passed over Punta Gorda on August 13, 2004, and Ian made its second landfall near Punta Gorda in 2022. Three weeks after Ian, Charlotte had the second-highest Ian claim count in the state, behind Lee (OIR data, Oct 17, 2022). Helene and Milton then flooded Charlotte Harbor in 2024. Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda claims are roof and wind claims, surge claims along the harbor and canals, and manufactured-home claims in the county’s parks. See Charlotte County and Charlotte Harbor, and our manufactured and mobile homes page.
Local lines: Charlotte County and Charlotte Harbor, (941) 267-3777.
Sarasota, Bradenton and Manatee County
Sarasota and Manatee took Helene’s surge and then Milton’s landfall thirteen days later. Milton came ashore near Siesta Key; the National Weather Service recorded gusts to 102 mph at Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport. In early August, Tropical Storm Debby had already dropped 15 to 20 inches of rain on parts of both counties. That is three separate events, and often three separate claims, in one season. The barrier islands from Anna Maria and Longboat Key to Siesta Key and Venice are condominium and second-home markets; inland, Milton’s wind damaged roofs and manufactured-home communities across Bradenton and Ellenton. Local pages: Sarasota and Bradenton.
Local lines: Sarasota and Bradenton, (941) 267-3777.
Lehigh Acres, Immokalee and the Inland Counties
Inland does not mean safe. After Ian, a National Weather Service station near Lehigh Acres recorded 14.42 inches of rain from September 26 to 29, 2022, and the station in Immokalee recorded gusts to 81 mph. Inland claims are rain intrusion through wind-damaged roofs, flooding from standing water in neighborhoods with no surge risk, manufactured-home roof and anchoring damage, and farm and ranch structures in eastern Collier, Hendry and Glades counties. More than four in ten Lehigh Acres residents and six in ten Immokalee residents speak Spanish at home; we handle the whole claim in Spanish. See Lehigh Acres, Immokalee and our agricultural properties page.
Local lines: Lehigh Acres and Immokalee, (239) 414-3777. Hendry and Glades counties: call the same line.
Common Southwest Florida Claims
Most of the Southwest Florida claims we handle fall into a few groups. Each one has its own coverage questions.
What a Southwest Florida Public Adjuster Does for You
There is no fee unless there is a recovery. See public adjuster fees for how fees work under Florida law.
Southwest Florida Public Adjuster FAQs
Is there a public adjuster in Fort Myers or Naples?
Do you handle condo association claims in Southwest Florida?
My house took surge and wind. Is that one claim or two?
Is it too late to file a Milton, Helene or Ian claim?
My Southwest Florida claim was closed without payment. What now?
I was out of state when the damage happened. Can you still help?
How do I reach a Southwest Florida public adjuster after hours?
Southwest Florida Public Adjusters, City by City
Every Southwest Florida page below has its own local line that rings our adjusters directly. Not listed? We serve all of Southwest Florida; call the (239) line, or the (941) line in Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee.
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Claims We Handle Across Southwest Florida
From a surge-flooded canal home in Cape Coral to a Milton roof in Sarasota, these are the claims Southwest Florida property owners bring us.