It is time to once again for all residents to prepare for hurricane season. A good place to start your preparation is a review your home and auto insurance policies.
Most importantly, you need to be sure to keep your auto and home insurance policy numbers handy so you will be able to quickly report your claim after the storm. A good place to keep this information is in your cell phone. Enter the insurance company name, the company’s claim reporting phone number, and your policy number. Also be sure to enter the name of your local agent and his/her phone number. If there is a storm and you have damage, be sure to report the claim directly to the insurance company. Your local agent is happy to help you but may not have phone service.
Next, make sure your home is adequately insured. If your home is destroyed by the storm, will your insurance payout be enough to enable you to rebuild the dwelling. Your local agent can help you determine the proper amount of insurance.
You should be able to list and describe everything in your home – furniture, clothes, movie collection, jewelry, etc. If the event of a loss to your personal property, the insurance company will ask for a list of all damaged or destroyed property. This is not an easy task! Thus our recommendation is to take a multitude of photos of the interior of your home. Keep the digital photos in your phone and one other place – two sets just in case! Ask a family member not living in the area to keep a set.
Know what your policy deductible is in event of a wind or hurricane loss. Most insurance companies are using a percent deductible. Say your home is insured for $300,000 and the policy has a 2% wind deductible. The deductible that applies to your loss will be $6,000. Knowing this ahead of time allows you to keep that amount available and prevents an unwelcome surprise when you receive the claim check from the company.
On your auto insurance policy, you should know that storm damage to your vehicle is covered under the comprehensive (other than collision) coverage on your policy.
Henry H. Lowndes. Jr., CEO
C. T. Lowndes & Company