1. FEMA: three emergency declarations, zero counties with homeowner assistance
On October 9 the President approved emergency declarations for Florida (EM-3655, incident period from October 6), Alabama (EM-3656, from October 7) and Georgia (EM-3657). FEMA's own designated-areas pages, read October 14, show the same thing for all three: under "Individual Assistance" the word "None", and under "Public Assistance" only category B, emergency protective measures, for 27 Florida counties, 76 Georgia counties, and Baldwin, Escambia and Mobile counties plus the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama. News reports of FEMA's announcement on the night of October 9 add that the aid is "limited to direct federal assistance" at a 75 percent federal share, and that more designations may follow "if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments".
In plain words: category B pays counties and the state for debris crews, shelters and generators. It does not pay a homeowner for a roof. Repair grants to households and SBA home loans come only with a major disaster declaration that includes Individual Assistance, and as of October 14 no such declaration exists for Isaias. Until it does, the money behind your estimate is the homeowner's insurer, the homeowner's savings, or a loan.
What the state counted over the weekend, from the Florida governor's updates: 439,162 accounts without power at 1 PM on October 10 and about 200,000 of them restored by 1 PM on October 11; boil-water notices in seven counties; the first insurance assistance hub opening in Destin on October 12 with at least six carriers on site; six of 260 debris sites open; and DBPR had reached 101,637 Florida-licensed contractors, asking them to register on DCNOnline.org.
2. Georgia: a state of emergency in 159 counties, a five-day cancellation right and a $2,500 line
Governor Brian Kemp's state of emergency for Hurricane Isaias covers "all 159 counties" and took effect on October 8. Attorney General Chris Carr's warning of October 9 says the price-gouging statute is active: while the emergency lasts, a business may not sell designated goods or services "at a price higher" than just before the declaration, except for increases that "accurately reflect an increase in the cost of new stock" or transportation, plus the average markup of the 10 days before. The same release points homeowners to the state's guidance on "contracts with contractors following natural disasters".
That guidance, on the Attorney General's consumer site, is the part a contractor needs to read. Under Senate Bill 201, in force for contracts signed within one year of a natural disaster since July 1, 2025: the homeowner may cancel "prior to midnight on the fifth business day" after receiving written notice from the insurer that all or part of the claim is not covered; the contractor must attach a "NOTICE OF CANCELLATION" form to the contract before it is signed; a contractor may not take an assignment of the insurance proceeds; and work that does not meet state minimum codes or accredited industry standards is an unfair practice. The same page says roofers "are not allowed to file claims on their customers' behalf" unless they are, or employ, a licensed public adjuster, and that Georgia does not license roofers, painters, drywall contractors or handymen at the state level. A state residential contractor license is required when the value of the work or the contractor's compensation, "whichever is the higher, exceeds $2,500.00" (Code section 43-41-2).
This is not legal advice. What applies to your trade, your license and your contract is a question for the Georgia board or your attorney.
What to do about it this week
- 01Ask every storm lead the same first question: has the claim been filed, and what did the adjuster say? No federal grant is coming to that house this week; the insurer's answer is the budget.
- 02Put a monthly-payment option on the estimate for the part the insurer will not pay: the deductible, the upgrade from the old shingle, the fence the policy excludes.
- 03Georgia, every post-storm contract: the cancellation notice attached before signing, no billing of non-emergency work until the fifth business day after the insurer's written answer, and no clause that assigns the insurance money to you. Ask your attorney what counts as emergency work.
- 04Georgia, the license: over $2,500 of work means a state residential license unless your trade is one the state does not license. Check with the board before you quote, not after.
- 05Watch FEMA's page for Florida, Alabama and Georgia. The day "Individual Assistance" stops saying "None", homeowners get repair grants and the math on every open estimate changes.
Where WorkTime CRM helps with this
With the second item: the money the insurer will not cover. It does not file claims, and it does not produce Georgia's cancellation form.
- Financing on the estimate: in Settings → Company → Payments, the "Financing for Clients" card takes your Acorn Finance link, or any other lender's link, and a toggle shows an estimated monthly payment on the estimate. The client applies through your link and, once approved, pays you from the loan; the lenders pay Acorn, not you.
- The teaser under the project name: Settings → Estimate Design adds a short "about us" paragraph and a financing line to the header of every estimate, where the homeowner reads it before the price.
- When the insurer says no and the job dies, move the client to Rejected and pick "Financing fell through" as the reason: the CRM schedules a follow-up, and you see how many storm jobs you lost to money, not to a competitor.