Let's imagine a hurricane is approaching our area. These are some insurance related items you may want to consider as you prepare for the storm.
· Find your insurance policies (automobile, homeowners, flood, boat, commercial, etc.). If the policy has been sent to you electronically, save it to a USB drive. Take either the paper copy or the electronic version with you if you evacuate.
· Locate your insurance company’s claims reporting telephone number and store in your cell phone along with your policy number. The phone number to report a claim is usually part of your policy (many times found at the very back). You can find the phone number under the Claims Tab at www.ctlowndes.com (Reporting Insurance Claims tab) plus you can always call your agent to get the number.
· Store your agent’s office and cell phone numbers in your cell phone as well as email address.
· Know what your deductibles are. The deductible that applies to a hurricane claim is usually a percentage of the amount of insurance on your home. For example, if your home is insured for $300,000 and has a 2% deductible, the deductible is $6,000. Your policy explains exactly how this works.
· Different insurance companies use different types of “wind” deductibles - wind/hail, named storm, or hurricane. Know which applies to your policy. Note that a named storm deductible applies if a tropical storm or hurricane warning has been issued for your area and a hurricane deductible applies if a hurricane warning has been issued.
· Hurricanes cause an immense amount of tree damage and yards can become covered with fallen limbs and trees. Your insurance policy provides very little coverage for clean-up costs involving trees. If you have a chain saw, make sure you have a sharp chain and plenty of fuel.