Three Things to Do Before Severe Weather Hits

Severe weather rarely gives much notice. The work that protects you happens before the forecast changes — and most of it takes an afternoon.

Here are the three that matter most.

1. Check your coverage, and check your deductibles

• Your replacement cost has probably moved. Additions, renovations, and rising construction costs all increase the cost of rebuilding. A policy written to the right number four years ago may not be written to the right number now.
• Find out what your wind and hail deductible is. This is the single most common surprise Alabama homeowners get at claim time. Many policies carry a separate deductible for wind and hail — often a percentage of your dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount. On a home insured for $400,000, a 2% wind deductible is $8,000 out of pocket before the policy pays anything. Homeowners who assume their $1,000 all-perils deductible applies to storm damage find out otherwise after a hailstorm.
• Ask how your roof would be settled. Many policies now pay roof claims on an actual cash value basis, or on a schedule that depreciates by roof age, rather than paying full replacement cost. On an older roof, that difference can be tens of thousands of dollars. If your policy has moved to ACV roof settlement, you want to know that before the storm, not after.

Flood coverage & waiting periods

Standard homeowners’ policies do not cover flood damage. Flood coverage is a separate policy, and it does not take effect immediately:

• NFIP policies carry a standard 30-day waiting period. Narrow exceptions exist — coverage tied to a mortgage loan closing is effective at funding, and property newly mapped into a high-risk zone may qualify for a one-day wait.
• Private flood policies often have shorter wait periods, typically 10 to 15 days, with some carriers waiving the wait entirely for real estate closings.
• Once a storm is named and approaching, binding stops. You cannot buy your way in at that point, which is the entire reason the waiting periods exist.

Note on NFIP limits: Residential building coverage is capped at $250,000 and contents at $100,000. If your home would cost more than that to rebuild, the federal program cannot make you whole on its own. Private flood coverage can go higher.

2. Document what you own, before you need to prove it

After a total loss, almost nobody can reconstruct what was in their house from memory. Insurers do not expect you to — but the claim moves faster, and settles closer to what you actually lost, when you can show them.

1. Photograph and video everything. Room by room, drawers and closets open. It takes an hour.
2. Capture the details that matter. Serial numbers on electronics and appliances, receipts for major purchases, and appraisals for jewelry, firearms, art, or collectibles. Those high-value categories are often sublimited under a standard policy, which is worth a separate conversation before you need it.
3. Store it where the storm cannot reach it. Cloud storage, plus a copy with a relative or in a safe deposit box. A home inventory sitting on a laptop that burned with the house has not helped anyone.
4. Keep your policy with it. A digital copy of your declarations page, your agent’s contact information, and your policy number belong in the same place.

3. Have a plan for the day itself

• Know where you are going. Map more than one evacuation route, since the obvious one may be blocked or flooded. Identify pet-friendly shelters in advance — this is the detail that most often leaves families stranded, because many shelters do not accept animals, and people will not leave without them.
• Pack the bag before the season, not the week. Essential medications and a list of prescriptions, identification, vital documents, chargers, cash, and enough supplies for several days.
• Know your safe room. In Alabama, the more likely scenario is a tornado warning with minutes of notice rather than a hurricane with days of notice. An interior room on the lowest floor, away from windows. Decide now, and make sure everyone in the house knows.

One thing to think about before a contractor knocks

After a storm, roofing and restoration contractors will come to your neighborhood. Some are excellent. Some will ask you to sign an Assignment of Benefits (AOB).

An AOB transfers your rights under the policy to that contractor, letting them file the claim and collect payment directly from your insurer. There are situations where that genuinely helps — most obviously when you cannot front repair costs and need work started immediately.

But it is worth understanding what you are signing. Once you assign your benefits, you are no longer the one negotiating your claim, and disputes between the contractor and your insurer can proceed without you while your house sits unrepaired. Many policies also contain anti-assignment clauses that require the insurer’s consent, further complicating matters.

Our advice is simple: call your agent before you sign anything. Not because an AOB is always wrong, but because that decision should be made with information rather than on a clipboard in your driveway two days after a tornado.

Before the next warning

The work that protects you is the work you do now. Review your limits and deductibles, document what you own, and handle flood coverage while the timeline still allows.

Contact Palomar’s Personal Lines team for an annual coverage review. There is no cost, and no obligation.

Lynn Swink, LUTCF — Director of Personal Lines Sales

lynns@palomarins.com | (800) 489-0105

Palomar has served clients since 1954 and is headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama.