Good Morning,
June 1st is right around the corner, and for any well seasoned Floridian, that means 1 thing....Hurricane season. This is national Hurricane Preparation Week and there is no better time to check on all of your hurricane supplies and make any necessary adjustments. A great resource for those needing some guidance and even some of us storm pros that could use a refresher is Hurricanes | Ready.gov. Here the FEMA website has all kinds of tips, checklists and guides to provide you with valuable information on how to prepare you and your families in the event of a hurricane. Now once you have checked your stash, gotten your list and developed your plan, you may ask....where are some good places to go for supplies? Well there are lots of great places to go in our area, fortunately. I frequent, Sunshine Ace hardware, a locally owned hardware company that offers a great selection of items and very helpful employees. Lowes is also a great place to go, especially if you are a Veteran. Lowes offers a special discount available to veterans as a special thank you for your service. There are many other places that have great deals and good selections just check around. The most important thing to do though is...to do it. No matter where you decide to go...just go. There will be plenty of folks who are ill prepared and confused to stand in line for you the two days leading into the storm don't worry. You can be where every true Floridian belongs in the day or two before a storm....Michigan, with a totally secure home, or for those who choose to stay hanging out offering assistance to your "expert neighbor" who waited to the last minute to do everything and his wife is crying and well....so is he.
It is also a great time to review your Homeowners insurance policy. Yes, prices are all going up. There are many reasons for these moves, but most of them stem from litigation and "claim creep" from Matthew and Irma, and the associated increase cost of re-insurance to our carriers. Your neighbor that had 4 broken tiles on his roof and ended up with a whole new roof at and increased cost of 100k, and was bragging to you about it..... there you go. Carriers are being forced to make some very difficult moves including non-renewals and cancellations. Remember, insurance companies WANT to sell you insurance so when they do this , it is not a good thing for them. Fortunately, as an independent agent we have access to many carriers that still have capacity to help, so if you have a need, or if you have questions and just want to talk it over with someone in the business, please feel free to give us a call 239-594-0002.
Until next time,
Charlie
Charles Dorta
charlie@heritagenaples.com
239-594-0002