Hurricane
Checklist and Plan
Hurricane season is rapidly approaching, and now more than
ever, it is important to be prepared for the next super-storm. Shutter Shack’s Hurricane Checklist and
Preparedness Guide is a perfect way to make sure you are ready in case of a
disaster.
Developing your plan:
At the beginning of each hurricane season, you need to
review, practice and update your family plan. Everyone should have a role in
the plan, including children.
EVACUATION
Check with your county office of emergency management now to
see if you need to evacuate. If
you do, decide if your family can stay with friends or relatives outside
evacuation zones who live in a hurricane-safe house. Assign responsibility for
food, water and must-have supplies. Another option is to evacuate to an inland
hotel.
LEAVING
THE AREA
Plan on leaving as early as possible, but consider
evacuating 10s of miles not 100s.
Flying out: Be prepared for airport closings, full or
cancelled flights.
Driving out: Tropical storms and hurricanes are notorious
for changing direction. If you drive out, you may find yourself headed directly
into a threatened area, or you could get trapped in traffic. Leave early and
have an alternative evacuation plan.
LAST
RESORT EVACUATION
A Red Cross shelter should be your last resort. Do not go until you hear from officials
that the specific shelter has opened. Shelters will be crowded and
uncomfortable. Be sure to bring:
• Pillows and blankets
• Food, water and prescription medicines
• Small toys, games and books for young children
• No pets, alcohol or firearms allowed
IF
YOU DO NOT EVACUATE
• Retrofit your home prior to hurricane season.
• Install shutters or check shutters to ensure that they are
operable.
• Use the list of must-have supplies on page 4.
• Identify a safe room in your house. A safe room has no windows
and will protect your family if your house should break apart during a storm. Examples are a large interior
closet, hallway, bathroom or stairwell.
• Designate an out-of-town emergency contact.
• Consider using the Red Cross website: www.safeandwell.org.
SPECIAL
MEDICAL NEEDS
If you or someone you know requires non-critical medical
support, pre-register with your county office of emergency management for a
Special Care shelter. Bring supplies for three days including food, water,
medicine, nebulizer and oxygen equipment. If you have a breathing problem, the
American Lung Association
suggests getting a doctor’s recommendation for your special
medical needs during a severe weather emergency. Keep extra medical items on
hand in case of a severe weather emergency such as:
• Have a backup battery for ventilators.
• Have a backup oxygen cylinder(48-hour supply).
• Ask your medical supply vendor about services they provide
in the event of a hurricane and/or power failure.
IN
GENERAL
• Check with your employer for any special job
responsibilities when a storm threatens. Make sure they understand that you
will require time to prepare your home and family.
• Assign an emergency meeting place in case your family gets
separated.
Protecting Your Property
Before hurricane warnings, find out what storm damages your
home insurance covers and whether you need to add more protection. If a
hurricane destroyed your home, would your insurance cover the cost to rebuild?
• Don’t wait until a storm is threatening offshore to find
out.
• If you’re like most people, you probably don’t have more
than a vague idea about what your policy covers and what it doesn’t. The danger
is that you may think you’re adequately protected when you are not. By some
estimates, close to two-thirds of U.S. homes are underinsured.
• How does it happen? Sometimes people make home
improvements without telling their insurance agents. Or, policy limits simply
haven’t kept up with rapidly escalating building costs. Sometimes policies have
special exclusions or restrictions that homeowners don’t realize are there.
• Florida law now mandates that insurance companies include
an easy to understand coverage checklist with every homeowner’s insurance
policy. Among other things, the list will show costs, coverage limits and
exclusions. It will also detail how much the policyholder would receive [and
for how long] if the home were destroyed.
• Your overall insurance limit is the first thing to check
since that could come into play with a destructive storm. Ideally, you want a
limit high enough to cover the cost of rebuilding your house on the same site,
not including the value of the land. If you have a mortgage on your home, your
lender may require you to carry enough insurance to replace your home, but
cannot require more than that even if your mortgage is for a higher amount.
• If your limit looks too low, ask your insurance agent to
evaluate your situation. The market value of your home might be twice the
limit, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the limit is wrong. Property values
are changing rapidly and it can be very difficult to separate the replacement
cost of the building from the cost of the land.
• If you disagree with the agent’s estimation of replacement
value, you can get a second opinion. There are valuation sites such as
www.accucoverage.com or www.bluebook.net/products/insure-to-value, where (for a
nominal fee) you can obtain an online report. If you have an expensive home,
with many custom features, it may be worthwhile to pay for a professional
appraisal.
• You’ll also want to review your policy’s limitations and
exclusions. Peripheral structures such as pool sheds, detached garages, pool
screens, and fences may not be covered at all.
• Your policy also may limit or exclude coverage for items
such as boats, cars, aircraft, cash, guns, silverware, jewelry, furs, antiques,
electronics, business equipment and records. If you want adequate coverage for
those items, you’ll probably need to buy extra coverage or a separate policy.
• The biggest exclusion in homeowner policies is flood
damage, which has been a huge issue for homeowners in Louisiana and Mississippi
whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Even if wind drives
the waves, homeowner policies won’t cover flood damage.
• If you live in a flood hazard zone, your mortgage lender
will require flood insurance. If you own your home free and clear, or you live
outside the hazard zone, flood coverage is optional, but flooding is still a
real risk. Many homes flooded during Katrina were not in hazard zones.
• Something called “law and ordinance” coverage is optional
for everyone, but without it, your policy won’t pay the extra cost of
rebuilding to meet current building codes.
• A safer way to save money is to increase your deductible,
particularly for non-hurricane coverage. If you’re still at $500, raising it to
$1,000 is a good idea. If you’ve got an expensive house, you might want to opt
for $2,000 or higher. The hurricane deductible - most likely 2 percent of the
insured value - can also can be increased if you could afford to pay more out
of pocket for storm damage.
• The best way to prepare for higher deductibles is to
maintain an emergency reserve in a bank or credit union account or a
money-market fund. Savings bonds less than a year old can also function as an
emergency fund since they can be cashed at any time.
