What you can take away from this year’s hurricane season.
When Hurricanes Florence and Michael hit the east coast earlier this year, she left a wake of destruction and devastation in her path. Unfortunately, many homeowners had to learn the hard way that they were not adequately prepared for such a natural disaster. Here’s how homeowners across the country can learn from their mistakes.
- Review and Update Your Homeowners Insurance
After Florence and Michael let up, many came home to extreme damages. Sadly, when these homeowners attempted to file an insurance claim, they learned that their coverage limits were not high enough to cover the full cost of all their repairs. This, of course, meant that they had to cover all remaining costs out of their own pockets. If you would like to avoid this grim reality, it’s important to review and update your homeowners insurance coverage regularly. You should assess your policy’s coverage limits annually and update them to reflect inflation, increasing property values, and higher building and labor costs. By keeping your policy’s coverage up-to-date, you can ensure that you have the coverage you need in the event that your home sustains major damages or is completely destroyed during a natural disaster.
- Secure Specialty Insurance Policies
Even after the raging winds and torrential rains of Hurricanes Florence and Michael dissipated, extensive flooding continued to wreak havoc. These floods were also responsible for some of the worst damages to homes and personal property. Unfortunately, many homeowners did not realize that their standard insurance policies would not provide coverage for their flood damages. Because they did not have a specialty flood policy, they were left to deal with the full extent of their home’s flood damages on their own. This reminds homeowners about the importance of speaking to their agents and making sure that they have all the coverages they need—especially specialty ones. For instance, homeowners may need to secure a flood or earthquake policy to ensure that they have coverage for all the risks that their homes face.
These are some of the things that homeowners can learn from Hurricanes Florence and Michael. Are you interested in securing the comprehensive homeowners insurance you need to keep your property and personal belongings safe? If so, contact the experts at Scautub Agency in Scotia, New York. Our dedicated team is ready to get you the coverage that you need today.