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Prepare before the storm

Families recover faster when their papers, insurance and plan are ready before a storm. Most of it takes an afternoon.

Check your paperwork

Answer a few questions to see what to fix first. Your answers stay on this device. Nothing is saved or sent.

Skip any question you’d rather not answer.

Do you own or rent your home?
Is the deed to your home recorded at the county, in your name?
Was your home left to you by a family member who died, with the deed still in their name?
Do you have renters insurance?
Is a copy of your insurance declarations page (the summary page at the front of your policy) saved somewhere other than your phone?
Do you know the dollar amount of your hurricane or named storm deductible?
Do you have flood insurance?
Have you photographed or filmed every room in the last year, including closets and the garage?
Do you have your mortgage company’s name, its phone number and your loan number written down?
Do you have a copy of your lease or another document that shows you live there?
Are you signed up for your county’s emergency alerts?
If you live near the coast, do you know your evacuation zone?
Are copies of your IDs, insurance cards and medication list in a waterproof bag you can grab fast?

Know what a storm will cost you first

Many hurricane deductibles are a percentage of your dwelling coverage. You pay that amount first on any hurricane claim. A 2% deductible on $300,000 of dwelling coverage is $6,000 out of your pocket before insurance pays.

Where is the home?

Listed as Coverage A or Dwelling on your declarations page. Enter the full amount, for example 300,000.

How is your hurricane or named storm deductible written?

This is an estimate for planning. Your policy wording decides what you owe, so confirm with your agent.

Know your zone and get local alerts

Coastal counties in both states sort addresses into evacuation zones. When officials order an evacuation, they name zones.

Pack a document bag

Paper copies still work when phones die and towers go down. Put these in a gallon freezer bag and keep it where you can grab it on the way out the door.

Store digital copies too: email them to yourself and to someone you trust who lives outside the area.

  • Photo IDs for every adult
  • Birth certificates and Social Security cards
  • Insurance cards and your declarations pages
  • Your deed or lease
  • A recent mortgage statement
  • A list of medications, doses and prescribing doctors
  • Phone numbers written on paper: family, doctors, insurance, landlord or lender
  • Your home inventory video on a USB drive, or printed stills from it
  • Pet vaccine records and a photo of each pet
  • Some cash in small bills