Courtesy of iii.org
Late summer is the peak time for hurricane season. And as if on cue, theres a few storms brewing out in the Atlantic. Its too early to tell if they will impact Florida, but it is not too early to prepare as if they are.
Review our hurricane season insurance checklist. First on the list is probably the most important: Make certain to have enough coverage to completely rebuild your home in the event it is severely damaged or destroyed. This means sufficient insurance protection to rebuild your home and replace all its contents.
Dont confuse the real estate value of your home with its insurance cost. Typically, the older your home the bigger the gap between what it costs to insure it, which is the rebuilding costs, and what you would get if you sold it.
The second thing to check NOW is the amount of your hurricane deductible. If your home is insured for over $100,000, you have a minimum 2 percent hurricane deductible. You can increase that deductible to as high as 10 percent. With three months left in hurricane season, are you confident you selected a deductible you can live with? Call your insurance professional and have The Talk.
You cant make changes to your insurance policy when a named storm is heading our way. As soon as the National Hurricane Center bestows a name on a tropical system, youre locked into whatever decision you made, within the timeframe set in the statute on hurricane deductibles.
Whats in a name? Well, it could be your money, so be proactive while keeping an eye on Gaston and Hermine, the two tropical storms getting weather forecasters attention.
