ReleaseWire Connect

Hurricane season begins in just a few days and homeowners should consider being ready. Making a few changes to a home may help with being able to weather the storm, and they may also lead to insurance policy discounts.

A New Year offers plenty of opportunities to get off to a new start or make some financial changes. Consider a few tips with the arrival of 2020 to better control your finances and possibly have some money for a rainy day.

If a claim is made by the HOA, the fine print that occurs in an insurance policy may result in delays or denials in financial recovery, simply because providing compensation is easier and not as expensive for the insurance company than issuing a damage check. Insurance companies have years of experience manipulating the language of policy terms that may be to its advantage.

Examining and understanding an insurance policy is an effective way for homeowners to know what their policy covers and what it doesn’t. Many homeowners may experience an unwanted surprise when they realize their coverage is insufficient. One reason for this may be common myths associated with insurance.

Miami, FL – When buying a home, it is important to have full disclosure regarding potential issues the property may have. Hence, a home inspection is a highly recommended suggestion before proceeding further with a home purchase. However, what happens when a new homeowner finds out the home is a major flood risk after it’s bought?

One way to take preventative measures early is by making a video or photo inventory of belonging in and outside of the home, preferably with a timestamp or date showing when the pictures were taken or the video was filmed. A spreadsheet can help with keeping track of details like an item's purchase date and cost, model number, and any warranty information, particularly useful for major appliances. A cloud storage solution such as Google Drive can be used to keep the information safely stored or a weatherproof box can work too. By doing a home inventory, it will be much simpler to request cash or replacement value from the insurance provider.

One way to start is to figure out whether the damage was a result of flooding, wind, or rain. This step is vital since flood insurance in Florida is not covered under most homeowner's insurance policies and requires having a separate policy.

Regardless of the age of the roof, there are steps a homeowner can take that may lessen the damage of a storm or potentially prevent having to make an expensive roof replacement. For starters, take some time out at least twice a year to examine and clean gutters. Leaves should be removed as they will result in clogging. By not cleaning the gutters, damage may occur to sidings and walls.

Florida managed to escape the damage of Hurricane Barry, but months remain before the end of hurricane season. Considering how unpredictable Mother Nature can be, homeowners should always be prepared beyond having canned goods, sufficient water, candles, and batteries in the event of a power failure.

The initiative is being called Prepare Florida and it features a broad array of homeowner resources and information discussing anything and everything that involves major storms. Among the tools found on the PrepareFL.com website, visitors will find an emergency preparedness toolkit, a comprehensive guide regarding natural disasters, as well as information on insurance-related issues such as the assignment of benefits, flood insurance claims and the process involved, and what homeowners can expect if and when they file a hurricane-related homeowners insurance claim.