Storm damage to car glass in Central Florida.

People who move to Orlando sometimes assume a hurricane loses its punch long before it gets this far inland. The record says otherwise. Three storms in twenty years crossed the Orlando area with hurricane-force gusts, and in each one the damage to parked cars came mostly from above: limbs, whole trees, signs and anything loose in a yard.

That shapes what breaks. A falling branch tends to land on the roof, the back glass or a glass sunroof. A windshield is more likely to take a hit from something blown sideways, like a fence board or a patio chair. Flooding damages a car in a different way, and glass is rarely the first problem when water has been inside the cabin.

A garage beats everything else. If yours is full of boxes, the day a storm is named is a good day to clear one bay. Next best is open ground away from trees and power lines: the middle of a parking lot rather than the shaded row along its edge, and never under the one big oak in the yard, however good the shade has been all summer.

Downtown Orlando opens its city garages to residents before major storms, but they fill. On the Wednesday morning before Milton, the city announced that five downtown garages were full: Central Boulevard, Jefferson Street, Library, the Orange County Administration garage and Amelia Street, about 3,500 spaces between them. Fees had been waived from 6 a.m. Wednesday to noon Friday. Normal rates are $2 an hour, up to $15 a day. If you plan to use one, go early and follow the city's storm page at orlando.gov/storm for that storm's rules.

Low ground matters too. Ian was a rain storm in Orlando more than a wind storm, and cars parked in low lots near lakes and retention ponds took water. Move the car to higher pavement if you can.

Glass broken by wind, a falling limb or flying debris is normally a comprehensive claim on a Florida auto policy, not a collision claim. What you pay depends on which glass broke. For the windshield, Florida law means $0 Deductible with Comprehensive Coverage. Door windows, back glass and sunroof glass are not covered by that rule, so your comprehensive deductible applies to them.

The hurricane deductibles that Floridians hear about each season belong to home policies. A car claim follows your auto policy, even after a named storm. If you are not sure what your policy says, read your declarations page or ask your insurer; we check the coverage with you before we book. Our Florida insurance page explains the statutes in full.

We help you file your claim. You open it with your insurer, and we have the glass part number, the VIN details and our business information ready. After a storm, be wary of anyone who knocks on the door offering a gift or cash for a glass claim. Florida law has banned those offers since 2023.