How to Prepare Your Home for Hurricane Season
If a hurricane were to severely damage your home, would your existing policy be enough to pay for all of the expenses? Hurricane season has officially begun, which means now is the time to review your homeowners insurance coverage. At OceanPoint Insurance, our professional agents can examine your current coverage and help you attain the protection you need to weather potential storms. Before you schedule an appointment with us, we have compiled a checklist of a few tips and procedures to complete:
- Check the limit of your current policy: The real estate value of a house is not the same as the cost to rebuild.
- Find out what disasters are covered by your existing policy: Standard homeowners insurance policies provide coverage for a variety of disasters. However, all policies also list exclusions, such as floods and earthquakes, which are not covered by the policy.
- Examine your current policy to see if it includes flood insurance: In case you are not aware, flood insurance may or may not be included in your existing policy. If you live in a flood zone or a hurricane-prone area, purchasing a separate flood insurance policy is a must.
- Complete a home inventory: Do you know how much it would cost to replace all of your personal possessions? Regardless of whether or not you believe that your coverage is adequate enough, conducting a home inventory is a great way to determine what you do and do not need.
- Secure your home: Repair loose boards, shingles, shutters, downspouts, etc. These repairs could become greater problems in high winds or torrential rain. If you live near the coast, purchase and store materials you may need to board up windows.
Don’t wait to review and update your insurance until after you have a loss. Call your OceanPoint Insurance professional today at 401.847.5200 to obtain the insurance protection that’s best for your needs and budget.
