{"id":1970,"date":"2024-10-09T05:39:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T05:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/?p=1970"},"modified":"2025-01-15T14:00:04","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T14:00:04","slug":"hurricane-preparedness-tips-before-after-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/homeowners-insurance\/homeowners-insurance-and-weather-damage\/hurricane-preparedness-tips-before-after-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"Hurricane Preparedness \u2013 Helpful Tips Before and After the Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This hurricane season has been relentless, with Hurricane Helene tearing through Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and beyond. Cities like Asheville were left devastated, dealing with widespread flooding, power outages, and major property damage. Many are still recovering, having lost homes and personal belongings. Now, with Hurricane Milton in Florida, it&#8217;s a reminder that there\u2019s no time to let your guard down. These storms can cause massive destruction\u2014flooding, wind damage, roof collapses, and property loss.<\/p>\n<p>To help protect your family and minimize damage and insurance claims, here are some steps to help you prepare before and what to do after the storm.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Prepare Before a Hurricane Strikes<\/h2>\n<p>It all begins with personal safety ahead of any storm. Prepare an evacuation plan for your family and identify the nearest storm shelter. Make sure you have an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/auto\/getting-ready-for-hurricane-season\/\">hurricane emergency kit in your car<\/a>. Be sure to have hurricane survival supplies, which include the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Plenty of bottled water<\/li>\n<li>First Aid kit<\/li>\n<li>Flashlights (with extra batteries)<\/li>\n<li>Battery-operated radio<\/li>\n<li>Three or more days of non-perishable food items<\/li>\n<li>Blankets<\/li>\n<li>Extra clothing<\/li>\n<li>Prescription drugs (as required by family members)<\/li>\n<li>Eye glasses<\/li>\n<li>Personal hygiene supplies<\/li>\n<li>Cash for at least 3 days<\/li>\n<li>Your pet\u2019s leash\/collar\/food<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to File an Insurance Claim After a Storm<\/h2>\n<p>The first few days following a natural disaster are often confusing and stress-filled. Once you\u2019re confident everyone you care about is okay \u2013 it\u2019s important for you to focus on contacting your insurance company and\u00a0filing your claim(s)\u00a0as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Make sure you carry your homeowners policy number and other relevant information with you at all times so you can refer to it easily should everything you own be destroyed by the storm. Time may be of the essence as some policies may require you make notification within a set time frame.<\/p>\n<p>As is often the case, severe damage caused by devastating storms can take years to settle with insurers and damage can take years to repair. So, be aware of this.<\/p>\n<h3>Document Damage Before Cleanup<\/h3>\n<p>Take photographs\/video of the damage before you begin clean-up or repairs. After you\u2019ve done the preliminary inventory and documented the damage, make the repairs you deem necessary to prevent any further damage to your home and property<\/p>\n<p>Start by covering broken windows, leaking roofs, and damaged walls, but DO NOT make permanent repairs until your\u00a0insurance company\u00a0has inspected the property and all parties have reached an agreement on the cost of repairs. If available, provide the claims adjuster with records of any improvements or modifications you may have made prior to the damage.<\/p>\n<p>Receipts will be vital. Save them all, including those from the temporary repairs, such as boarding up the windows or doors.<\/p>\n<p>Should your home be damaged beyond repair or to the extent that you cannot live there safely, ask your insurance company or insurance agent if you have coverage for additional living expenses. Chances are you do.<\/p>\n<h3>Stay Calm and Organized<\/h3>\n<p>It goes without saying that, after such a stressful event, tempers may be short, but staying calm and cooperating fully with the insurance company is to your advantage. Ask what documents, forms and data you need to file the claim. By keeping a diary, you\u2019ll have a record of all conversations with the insurance company and your insurance agent, including names, times and dates of the calls, including visits and important contact information.<\/p>\n<h2>Resolving Homeowners Insurance Disputes<\/h2>\n<p>In case you have a disagreement with the adjuster or calls aren\u2019t returned in a timely manner, you can refer to your notes. Furthermore, if you believe you are being treated unfairly, contact your local department of insurance.<\/p>\n<p>Be prepared and stay safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This hurricane season has been relentless, with Hurricane Helene tearing through Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and beyond. Cities like Asheville were left devastated, dealing with widespread flooding, power outages, and major property damage. Many are still recovering, having lost homes and personal belongings. Now, with Hurricane Milton in Florida, it&#8217;s a reminder that there\u2019s no [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1002630,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[106],"importance":[],"type-content":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1002630"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1970"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10540,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970\/revisions\/10540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1970"},{"taxonomy":"importance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/importance?post=1970"},{"taxonomy":"type-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-content?post=1970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}