When a hurricane pushes water into a cart barn, a course, resort or community can lose most of its fleet in a single night. Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Helene in 2024 both drove major storm surge into Florida's Gulf coast, and a cart barn is built at ground level so carts can drive in, which also means water gets in. If you're dealing with a hurricane damaged golf cart fleet, a clear plan keeps people safe, protects your insurance claim and gets golfers back out sooner.
Step 1: Make the cart barn safe before anyone touches a cart
- Have power to the cart barn and charging stations shut off by the utility or a licensed electrician before staff walk into standing water.
- Do not plug in, charge or power on any cart that sat in water, even if it looks dry.
- Look over lithium carts first, from a distance, for heat, smoke, hissing, popping or swelling. If you see any of it, clear the area and call 911.
- Around lead-acid carts, watch for spilled battery acid, and give staff gloves and eye protection.
- For gas carts, don't try to start an engine that was underwater.
How do you triage flooded golf course carts?
Sort every cart by how much water it saw. A simple four-group system works for most fleets:
- No water contact: wind or debris damage only, if any.
- Water below the floorboard: tires, brakes and lower frame got wet, and the motor may have too.
- Water at or above the floorboard: assume the batteries, controller and wiring were reached.
- Fully submerged, or saltwater reached the batteries: treat these as the highest-risk group.
Tag each cart with its fleet number and group, and photograph the waterline on the cart and on the barn walls. Note whether the water was storm surge or rainwater. Saltwater is far harder on electrical parts, and it's the bigger concern for lithium batteries.
Why should flooded lithium carts be separated from the fleet?
After Hurricane Ian, Florida's then-CFO and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis warned that lithium-ion batteries in vehicles, golf carts included, can catch fire after saltwater submersion, and that these fires can keep reigniting. The National Fire Protection Association has noted that fires in flood-damaged EVs can start days or even weeks after the flooding. A tight row of lithium carts inside a barn is the worst place for that to happen.
- Have flooded lithium carts moved outside to an open, paved staging area by people or a tow operator who know how to handle lithium vehicles. Never drive them there.
- Keep the staging area away from the clubhouse, cart barn, maintenance shop, fuel storage and other carts. NHTSA tells owners not to park a damaged vehicle with a lithium-ion battery in a garage or within 50 feet of a house or other structure, and the same spacing makes sense for carts.
- Space the carts apart so a fire in one can't spread down the row.
- Keep them off chargers, check them regularly for heat or smoke, and never open a battery pack.
Stage flooded lead-acid and gas carts as a separate group, also off chargers.
What documentation do insurers need for a storm damaged fleet?
Fleet claims involve dozens of carts that look alike, so organization pays off. Before anything leaves the property, put together:
- A master list with fleet number, serial number, make, model, year, power type and triage group for every cart
- Photos of each cart showing the waterline and serial plate, plus video of the barn and staging area
- Purchase invoices, lease agreements and maintenance records
- A separate list of damaged GPS units, chargers and shop equipment
- The date of loss and a dated log of every step you've taken since
Report the claim quickly. Florida law generally requires notice of a claim under a property insurance policy within one year of the date of loss (for a hurricane, the landfall date). Fleet carts might be covered under a commercial property policy, an equipment schedule or a separate policy, so confirm with your agent which one applies and what it says about flood.
If the carts are leased, call the leasing company right away. It may own the carts and have its own insurance and requirements. The Florida Department of Financial Services advises keeping damaged property, if it's safe, until the adjuster can inspect it, so don't sell or scrap any carts until your insurer and any lessor sign off.
How do you get the course back in play after a hurricane?
- Inspect the drier carts first. Have a technician check carts in groups one and two before they go back into service. Even shallow water can affect brakes, bearings and wiring connectors.
- Line up rental carts early. After a big storm, many courses and communities need temporary carts at the same time. Call rental fleets and dealers as soon as you know how many carts you're short.
- Adjust the tee sheet. Wider tee time intervals, encouraging walking, or limiting carts per group can keep revenue coming in while the fleet is thin.
- Check the charging setup. Chargers, outlets and wiring in a flooded barn need inspection before any cart, rental or new, gets plugged in.
- Plan the replacement fleet. If you were already weighing lithium or a new lease, this is the moment to decide.
Should you sell all the damaged carts to one buyer?
Once your insurer has inspected the carts and you know who owns the salvage, the damaged units need to go. Piecemeal selling is a poor fit here: few individual buyers want flooded carts, and flooded lithium units need careful handling and proper recycling.
Selling the whole damaged group to one buyer means one removal, one bill of sale listing every serial number for your insurer and your records, and lithium units leaving with someone experienced in handling them. We work with insurance companies on storm and flood losses, handle pickup and removal, and recycle batteries, metals and reusable parts responsibly. You can sell storm damaged golf carts in bulk to us, from a handful of units to an entire fleet. If the carts that made it through are being replaced too, our guide to selling a golf course cart fleet covers that side.
Dealing with a storm damaged fleet in Florida right now? Get a free quote or call 954-350-0440. Your master list and photos of the waterline, serial plates and battery compartments help us give you a faster, more accurate offer, and we can come out for an on-site evaluation.