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How to get an SBA disaster loan for my Florida business

Use the free tool — Hurricane Biz Plan

What an SBA disaster loan actually is

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers low-interest loans after a disaster is officially declared. There are two kinds: one for physical damage to your building, equipment, or inventory, and one for economic injury — money you lost because the disaster hurt your business, even if nothing was damaged.

The SBA does not promise how much you can borrow, and a loan is only available after a disaster declaration covers your area. Check the SBA's page for current declarations and how to apply.

• U.S. Small Business Administration — Disaster Assistance

Florida's bridge loan is a different, shorter program

Florida also runs an Emergency Bridge Loan through FloridaCommerce. It is short-term money meant to help you get through the days right after a storm, before insurance or an SBA loan comes through. It only opens after the Governor declares a state of emergency — it is not open all the time, and nobody can promise it will open for your storm or say how much it will offer.

• FloridaCommerce — Emergency Bridge Loan Program

Get these records ready before you apply

Both programs will ask for paperwork. Save copies now, in the cloud and on a phone that leaves with you:

• Last three months of sales and payroll
• Your lease, insurance policies, and business licenses
• Photos: exterior on all sides, the roof if visible, every room, equipment serial plates, inventory shelves, vehicles with the odometer showing, and the inside of coolers

Ask your insurance agent three questions, in writing, first

This is not insurance advice. Only your agent can tell you what your policy covers. Before a storm, ask in writing:

• What is my wind deductible amount?
• Is flood covered? Flood is usually a separate policy — the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood policy — and a new flood policy usually has a 30-day wait before it takes effect.
• Do I have business interruption or civil authority coverage, and what triggers it?

• FEMA National Flood Insurance Program

Paying your staff while you wait for a loan

Under federal law (the FLSA), hourly employees are generally owed only for hours actually worked. Salaried exempt employees generally must be paid for any week they do some work, even a closed week. This is not tax or legal advice. Decide your closure-pay policy now, and write it down.

• U.S. DOL — Natural disasters & the FLSA

If your county orders an evacuation, that comes first

No loan or paperwork matters if you don't get to safety. If your county orders an evacuation for your zone, close and go — no exceptions.

• Florida Division of Emergency Management — Know Your Zone

What to do next

Describe your business and get a one-page plan built from your own numbers — the free tool reads what you type, not a template, and nothing is stored. It hands you a timeline, a call list, the insurance photo list, and the programs above, ready to register with today.

This page is general information, not legal, insurance, tax, or emergency-management advice. Confirm loan details with the SBA and FloridaCommerce, confirm coverage with your insurance agent in writing, and always follow your county's evacuation orders first.

Hurricane Biz Plan generates a general continuity plan in plain language; it can be wrong, and it is not insurance, legal, tax or emergency-management advice. Evacuation orders from your county always come first. Confirm coverage with your insurance agent and program details with the SBA, FEMA and FloridaCommerce. Nothing you paste is stored.