Hurricanes in the southeastern United States are part of living down here. These storms can range from a quick, weak storm to a catastrophic event, wreaking devastation to communities in its path. Preparing for the potential of such storms should be taken seriously. Proper preparation can not only help to protect your home, but can strengthen your chances of obtaining a proper settlement a potential hurricane insurance claim.
Things to Do Ahead of Hurricane Season
Review Your Insurance Policy
It’s vital you review and understand your insurance policy. You should know what your policy covers, along with its limits. Ideally, your policy limits should be sufficient enough to cover rebuilding your home from scratch and replacing your contents, as well as providing enough funds for any Additional Living Expenses, such as hotel room rentals, in the event your home is unlivable after a hurricane.
It’s also important to know what your coverage excludes. The last thing you want to find out after a storm is that part of the damage was not covered under your policy. Contact your agent if you have any questions regarding coverage, or use our free insurance policy analyzer.
Know Your Hurricane Risk
What type of interesting challenges does your property pose when it comes down to a hurricane or wind storm? Does your area tend to flood during bad storms? Is your home vulnerable to high winds? Are there a lot of trees around your home? Knowing your hurricane risk can greatly help you prepare your home for a hurricane, making a claim, and helping you evaluate whether you need to evacuate.
Strengthen Your Home
Now is the time to make any lingering repairs to your home. High winds and water from a hurricane can make existing damage even worse, and that could lead to a claim denial down the line. Make sure your windows and vents are properly sealed. It’s also a great time to strengthen your home. You can install storm shutters, which are designed to protect your windows from damage.
Document Everything!
Before a hurricane strikes, it’s vital that you not only document your contents, but the state of your home. One area that regularly gets denied or underpaid from a property damage claim is contents. By documenting your contents in detail pre-storm, you stand a better chance of getting compensation you’re owed.
- Use this two-step comprehensive approach to documenting your contents:
- Go room to room and take a lot of photos and video of all your contents. Be sure to take lots of angles, and make sure the room is well-lit and your photos come out in-focus. When taking video, describe each item, noting what it is, where and where you purchased it, and its cost.
- Create a spreadsheet of your contents, noting when and where each item was purchased, as well as the cost. If you still have receipts, store those away safely.
- Take lots of photos and video of the interior and exterior of your home. Again, be sure to grab lots of angles.
Gather Important Paperwork
Well before hurricane season begins, take a few moments to gather all your important paperwork. That can include IDs, birth certificates, passports, social security cards, and titles. These documents should all be stored in a secure, water-proof container.
Once you have everything gathered, it’s a smart idea to make a digital copy of everything to store in the cloud, so you have a backup copy in case something gets lost.
Evacuation Planning
Not every storm requires an evacuation for most people, but when the right storm threatens you, have an evacuation plan in place. Know your local evacuation routes, and plan for evacuation routes in different directions based on the storm’s path.
Have a Way to Get Emergency Alerts & Updates
There are a couple of ways to be able to receive emergency alerts and updates right before and during a storm. First, your cellular device. Make sure you have plenty of back-up battery chargers to keep you powered up. On thing to keep in mind is sometimes cell towers go down during storms. Because of this possibility, it’s a great idea to buy a NOAA Weather Alert radio with lots of extra batteries on hand. This way you always have a way to receive those important updates.
Things to Do Days Before the Storm:
Emergency Supplies
Every family has unique needs. However, having easy access to the following emergency supplies offers convenience and safety when disaster strikes.
- Seven days of drinking water. When calculating how much water to purchase, the rule of thumb to follow is one gallon of water per person per day.
- Non-perishable food that does not need to be cooked or heated to eat
- Pharmacy-issued prescriptions and medications. Make sure your prescriptions and refills are up-to-date. Pharmacies tend to be overwhelmed right before a storm strikes, so going early might be your best bet.
- Flashlights, batteries, portable phone chargers, and matches
- Cash, as ATMs can be out of order because of no power
- A complete first-aid kit
- Important documents, such as driver’s licenses, birth certificates, passports, social security cards stored in a waterproof container. Be sure to include any titles or other important documentation.
- Tip: make a digital copy of all documentation to store in the cloud.
- Full tanks of gas/fuel in all your vehicles
- An emergency NOAA radio, along with extra batteries.
- Home disinfectants, alcohol wipes, and other cleaning supplies
- Essential items for the most vulnerable people, such as infants, the elderly or infirm family members.
Home Preparation
There are a few things you can do to your home to help protect it from damage:
- Remove items that can damage your home from the outside. High winds can send objects flying, making them dangerous projectiles. This can include securing loose items like furniture and potted plants.
- If you don’t have storm shutters installed on your windows, you can cover them with sheets of plywood to help protect them from damage.
- Purchase and install sandbags if you need protection from water intrusion from the ground.
- Reinforce your exterior doors, including your garage door.
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