Marathon storm & claim resource

Marathon sits in the Middle Keys, a low chain of islands between Florida Bay and the Atlantic where the design wind speed is the highest in the state and nearly every lot is VE or AE flood zone. Irma tore through the Keys in September 2017, landing at Cudjoe Key just to the west and devastating the Middle Keys. Donna had crossed the Middle Keys directly in 1960, Georges struck in 1998, and Wilma flooded the islands in 2005 — a storm history that leaves one recurring question on every claim: which peril, and which storm, owes for the damage?

What Marathon claims turn on

Surge is flood, and flood is excluded from every homeowners policy — it needs NFIP or private flood coverage. Wind is covered, behind a hurricane deductible that is a percentage of the home’s insured value, not the loss. In the Keys the deductible is often a windstorm deductible tied to Citizens or a surplus-lines carrier, and on a low island wind and surge arrive together — so the wind carrier and the flood carrier each point at the other. Ground-level enclosures, docks, and older mobile and stilt homes add scope fights over what the dwelling policy actually covers.

The law here

Florida gives you one year from the date of loss to give notice of a hurricane claim and 18 months for a supplemental claim (§ 627.70132, as amended by SB 2-A in 2023), and the carrier must pay or deny within 60 days of a complete proof of loss (§ 627.70131). For storms that are already years past, those notice windows have generally closed — but a claim you already filed that was denied or underpaid can still have options, and the deadline to sue on a filed claim is longer. These are general figures — confirm the current statutes and your own dates with counsel before relying on them.