Hurricane Insurance

Hurricane insurance has gained popularity in recent times because of the ever-increasing frequency of hurricanes around the world. Like flood insurance policies, hurricane insurance supplements homeowners’ insurance policies they (frequently) do not cater losses caused by hurricanes. Hurricane insurance covers repair/replacement cost of damaged/destroyed buildings, repair/replacement cost of damaged/destroyed personal assets along with the cost of debris removal. Shopping around for hurricane insurance before buying a policy is always a good idea. If you have decided to purchase a hurricane insurance cover determine your exact needs. Find a hurricane insurance policy that fits with your specific needs. Always buy your hurricane insurance policy from an insurance company having an immaculate track record. Don’t be swayed be cheaper options by less well-known companies (with uncertain financial standing) because it may require you to pay more than a more expensive hurricane insurance policy in case of losses. Make certain you are sufficiently covered i.e. your hurricane insurance cover is neither way above your needs nor way below it! An “all risk policy” may be a good alternative for people who have previously experienced major losses. It covers all losses not explicitly excluded in the hurricane insurance policy. Since an “all risk policy” undertakes to reimburse (various types of) losses it is more expensive than a conventional hurricane insurance policy.

It will easier (and faster) to process a claim on your hurricane insurance policy if you have a list of valuables (preferably along with photographs and receipts). This is because hurricane insurance companies require this list before paying out your claim. You will be forced to make such a list from memory. Unless you have a photographic memory it is likely that you will forget some of your valuables unnecessarily lessening the amount of your claim. You will have a number of choices for purchasing your hurricane insurance policy depending on the type of property you own. Hurricane insurance will supplement property insurance for business entities, homeowner’s insurance for private homeowners and renters insurance for tenants. As mentioned above, it is integral to ascertain your needs before buying your hurricane insurance policy. Following are some of the choices you will be faced with when choosing a hurricane insurance policy:

• Extended Replacement Cost Coverage – Material and labor costs rise substantially after catastrophes. Consequently, the cost of rebuilding your home may surpass the cover of your hurricane insurance policy. Extended replacement cost coverage on a hurricane insurance policy provides the amount in excess of the face value of the hurricane insurance policy. Extended replacement cost coverage on your hurricane insurance policy may be a viable alternative because insurance companies pay more than 30 percent above the face value of your hurricane insurance policy protecting you against excessive inflation in difficult times.
  
• Hurricane Deductibles – Most policyholders take deductibles as an inherent component of hurricane insurance policies and fail to realize their importance. Deductibles are all the more important for insurance against natural disasters such earthquake insurance, flood insurance and hurricane insurance etc. because the insurance company will not rebuild your home unless you shoulder the deductible. Experts recommend choosing an affordable deductible and setting aside the said amount as a security. This will secure you against the unpleasant position of not being able to get your claim because of your inability to pay the deductible amount.
  
  
• Flood Coverage – Damaged caused by storms surged from a hurricanes are classified as flood damage. Like hurricanes floods are also not covered under your homeowners’ insurance policy. Thus purchasing flood insurance in addition to hurricane insurance is a suitable option especially if you live in a hurricane prone area. Federal Government’s National Flood Insurance Program is the most popular source of flood insurance policies.