ABODE May 2020

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With hurricane season around the corner, learn how to prepare for property damage with these steps that will ensure maximum recovery. By

CHIP LANE, The Lane Law Firm

Hurricane Season: What to Do Before Disaster Strikes

T Pay close attention to three main things: policy limits, deductible and replacement cost coverage. Those are three simple things we “think” we know about, but the second and third categories often cause a lot of headaches.

www.haaonline.org

he most critical time for your business and/or property to prepare for an eventual insurance claim is right now, before there is an imminent threat. Unlike tropical storms and hurricanes, that give us some number of days to prepare, most property damage events occur without any notice. Think about flash floods, fires, hailstorms, tornados, theft and vandalism. You don’t want to react after an event – frantically weighing the pros and cons when a little bit of planning could have saved you plenty of heartache, headache and a lot of money. Here are a few crucial steps to help ensure you are prepared for an eventual insurance claim for property damage: Review your Insurance Policy The hurricane season of 2017 was the most expensive ever, with over $200 billion in damages. If you owned and/or managed property along the coast from Rockport to Houston that year, you were probably impacted in one way or another by Hurricane Harvey. The wrinkle that some owners did not anticipate was the Army Corps of Engineers flooding that occurred for days after Harvey was gone. Insurance policies are very technical in determining what is and is not covered, and some policies did not provide full coverage for all the damage from Harvey. Pay close attention to three main things: policy limits, deductible and replacement cost coverage. Those are three simple things we “think” we know about, but the second and third categories often cause a lot of headaches. Meeting with your insurance agent before a storm threatens is the perfect time to review your coverages. You do not have to wait for renewal time to make changes to your policy either.

May 2020

ABODE

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