Let’s discuss things we’ve learned from the last two hurricane seasons with Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Irma; there was also Harvey in Texas.
Price isn’t the only factor
The main thing here is don’t buy price and price alone. Buy coverages. When you have a big event like a Hurricane Matthew or Hurricane Irma, that’s not the time to find you don’t have good coverage.
For Jacksonville homeowners, home insurance is an essential tool for protecting your family from catastrophic losses if a covered event happens to your home. A standard homeowners insurance policy offers protection to the structure of your home (the house itself) as well as for your belongings (the contents of your home).
Different companies offer a variety of homeowner’s insurance packages that include a variety of other coverages, including general liability protection and additional living expenses or loss of use coverage for times when your home is uninhabitable while repairs are being made for covered losses.
Flood Insurance is VERY inexpensive and HIGHLY VALUABLE when storm waters rise
Buy flood insurance. If you live in Florida, buy flood insurance – for about $300 a year, you’re covered.
According to The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), flood insurance can protect your home in two ways.
- Building property coverage: Buying flood insurance can cover can help protect the physical structure of your home and its foundation. The policy also covers electrical and plumbing systems, central air systems and furnace, cabinets and paneling. The maximum coverage limit is $250, 000.
- Personal contents coverage: Contents inside your home such as freezers, electronics, clothing, curtains, and certain valuables like art can be protected. The maximum coverage is set at $100,000.
When purchasing a flood insurance policy, ensure that you identify the individual categories of the contents in your home and their estimated value. This is because some categories can have limits set below the total value of the possessions you own that qualify. For example, if you own high-value items such as art, you might consider purchasing additional protection for this category.
Document. Everything.
Document everything. Pictures, video, keep receipts, document, document, document. Once damage has occured, having documentation will help speed along the claims process, and will also ensure that you get what you deserve.
Beforehand, consider a home inventory. A home inventory is a comprehensive report detailing your personal property with descriptions and photos. Not only will it give you a good chance to clean out some clutter but it is considered a key component to settling and documenting insurance claims in case of emergencies where loss is incurred. This ultimately saves you a ton of hassle in that instance and is valuable for estate and financial planning.
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Lessons Learned from Hurricane Season
Today's #WhiteboardWednesday looks ahead to the 2018 Hurricane Season. 1. Don't buy insurance on price alone2. Consider Flood Insurance (it's only about $300/year)3. Document EVERYTHING in the event of a claim
Posted by Pablo Beach Insurance Group on Wednesday, April 18, 2018
If you would like to discuss this post, or if you are looking for homeowners insurance feel free to call us at 904-224-7000.
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