If you live in one of the coastal states, then you know how dangerous it can be during hurricane season. You never know what can happen and you never know if your area will be hit severely by hurricane force winds. Yes, the meteorologists make predictions of how many storms may formulate each year and when one does form, they predict its path. There have been instances where they have been wrong or things have a turn for the worse — such as the hurricane changing course, becoming stronger and heading straight towards you.
Hurricane season begins in June and ends towards the end of November. The peak for hurricane season lies within September. Being prepared for the season is very important if you own assets, such as a home or car. Although its difficult to get away in time, there are other precautions you can take in order to protect the things you own, such as by purchasing insurance.
Preparation Tips
You want to protect your vehicle as best you can from becoming horribly damaged. Since this is sometimes impossible, you have to turn to auto insurance to cover you. Not many people think of protecting their car during hurricane season and they are one of the many people who find their cars damaged beyond repair and no one to pay for the expenses. The first thing you should do is look over your current auto insurance policy to see how much coverage your vehicle has. Become familiar with it, so that later on you can avoid disasters that may come your way.
Planning ahead is always best when it comes to earthly elements and natural disasters. While you’re reading over your insurance policy to see if you have proper coverage, take notice to what your deductibles are, what you’re covered for and what’s required of you to do if your car is ever damaged. If you aren’t able to find the answers, give your insurance company a call to get the details. If you hear on the weather report that you are at risk of being hit by an approaching hurricane, you should park your car indoors or move it to higher ground with no trees or telephone poles around.
Auto Insurance Coverage
If you want to get full protection from auto damages caused by natural disasters like rain, fire, tornados, flooding and high winds, you’ll want to look into purchasing comprehensive coverage. Additional coverage you may benefit from during natural disasters include gap coverage and rental reimbursement. If your car becomes severely damaged, you’ll likely rental a vehicle to get around in, so make sure to check with your insurance company to ensure that you’ll be reimbursed for the rental car expenses. Gap coverage will come in handy if a hurricane totals your car — this will pay for the difference between what’s owed on your auto insurance policy and the actual worth of your vehicle.
Restrictions on Auto Insurance
The worst time to begin looking for auto insurance is right before or during hurricane season. In some instances, auto insurance companies won’t even issue you a policy if they know you’re area is about to be hit with a natural disaster. It isn’t allowed for people to purchase insurance right when they really need it and then not during other times. The federal government even restricts flood insurance from taking effect until after 30 days after the date the policy is issued. So if you live in an area where natural disasters happen, don’t wait until it’s too late to purchase comprehensive, rental reimbursement and gap coverage for your policy. You may even find that your insurance company won’t allow you to add those coverage options to your policy until after the disaster passes. This may also apply to homeowners insurance, so make sure your policies all have proper coverage.
Having the proper coverage at the right moment is crucial to you getting the benefits you need to pay for the damages done to your automobile. It is very important that you consider getting coverage months beforehand or keep it all year round if you want. A natural disaster can happen at anytime. Check with your insurance company to see what your policy covers and what the restrictions are for obtaining additional coverage. It’s possible that there could be a 60 day restriction before being able to get benefits for any damages on your vehicle.