6 things to know about insurance after Hurricane Beryl kicked storm season into high gear

Hurricane Beryl’s record-smashing appearance as the earliest ever Category 5 Atlantic hurricane — and one of the fastest to transform into a monster storm — portends the obliteration of much more than existing records before hurricane season ends.

Beryl did not come close to Florida, but the second named storm of a hurricane season predicted to leave its mark on history and landscapes is an early signal to take steps to fortify your property against loss well before it’s time to buy emergency supplies.

Here are six things you can do now about insurance coverage to meet the challenge of one of nature’s most destructive forces.

Flood insurance: Should you buy coverage now?

Consider that most of Hurricane Ian’s victims were not insured for the flood damage the storm inflicted, says Paul Handerhan, president of the Federal Association for Insurance Reform, a Fort Lauderdale-based insurance trade association focused on consumer advocacy.

Just 22% of the state’s homeowners carry flood insurance, according to state officials. And Handerhan believes that reflects how people buy insurance based on their mortgage-holder’s requirements instead of anticipating what’s coming from equatorial West Africa and how that can leave them wishing they were better protected.

“If you look at your driver's license and there's a picture of the state of Florida, you probably need flood insurance,” Handerhan said.

Don’t wait for an emergency to think about getting insurance

If you’ve gone bare — decided to go without property insurance — it’s already too late, and it was when hurricane season started June 1. Insurance companies don’t write new policies during hurricane season unless you’re buying a new home or are trying to replace a canceled policy before it expires.

But there’s also a limit to that.

“The insurance companies do close about 72 hours before landfall,” said Ryan Papy, president of Keyes Insurance, based in Miami. “They don't close for customer service, but they close to writing new business.”

2024 Hurricane Season Guide: Storm preparation tips, supplies, evacuation zones, insurance info

Know what you have and document it

Besides an insurance policy, a home inventory is one of the most important items experts agree you should have. It should list the significant items in your home, broken down room by room, with an estimate of each item’s value.

What to include? These items are musts: your flat-screen TV, computers, laptops and the larger pieces of furniture.

The inventory will make it easier to fill an accurate, detailed insurance claim, the experts agree. Photos and proof of ownership should also be kept with the inventory. Before it’s an emergency, take the list to your insurer to determine if you need additional coverage, advises the office of the state chief financial officer, which includes Florida's insurance regulators.

Make sure that you’ve got a picture of it, though.

“A lot of times what happens is, if you have a really bad storm and your home is damaged, sometimes it's difficult to determine what was there,” Handerhan said.

Harden your home structure and document it

Making sure your roof is up to code and buying hurricane-impact glass and doors can keep hurricane forces from damaging your most valuable asset. State leaders agreed enough in theory that My Safe Florida Home opened its portal for distributing a new round of $10,000 grants to individual homeowners this month.

Between now and July 15, homeowners older than 60 with low incomes are invited to apply. Next in line to get a share of the $200 million the Legislature allocated for this year: low-income homeowners of any age. Last year, the program processed some 38,000 grant applications and distributed $390 million in home-hardening grants.

Don’t wait to understand what your insurance policy covers

Often, the experts say, insurance is bought with an eye toward meeting the requirements of a mortgage holder at closing. At that point, consumers are often looking at what they have to fork over every month and keeping it as low as possible instead of considering what they might lose.

Sometimes there’s a deductible for hurricane damage, for example.

“If you decide to take a less-expensive policy, you really want to know what you're giving up for that price benefit,” Handerhan said. “Because these insurance contracts are long (with many pages), a lot of people don't understand that.”

The standard homeowner policy that mortgage holders such as banks and other home lenders require does not include flood insurance if your home lies outside of a high-risk flood zone. But, as the CFO’s office says, everywhere it rains, there’s a potential for flooding.

Also, if you’ve lived in your house for many years, the value of your possessions might have increased over the last few years and the coverage you have might not cover that increase in value.

Handerhan recommends taking a homeowners policy to some agents and asking them to spell out what’s covered.

“I would go to several agents and say, ‘Can you spend an hour with me and educate me on how this policy will really respond at the time of a hurricane?’ ” he said.

Pay attention, document the requirements of your policy

If you get a discount for putting shutters up, for example, make sure you document how you did that so you can collect, Papy recommends.

The Florida CFO's office has compiled a contact list of traditional Florida property insurers and flood insurers on its website, but in case the lights go out and the internet connection isn't working, experts advise keeping information such as policy numbers and insurance contacts in a strong box that can be packed away with the supplies you’re taking in case of an evacuation.

Anne Geggis is the insurance reporter at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at [email protected]. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Six insurance tips to meet challenge from destructive hurricanes