Hurricane season: the house, the plan and the paperwork

A hurricane is the one storm that gives real warning, days of it, and the one where the warning is least useful, because by then the hardware store is empty, the contractors are booked and the insurance rules have closed. The preparation that matters happens in June. Here it is, in four parts: the house, the water, the plan and the paper. The storm piece in this section covers the week of the storm itself.

The house

The roof is what fails first, and the openings are what let the wind in to lift it.

• Have a roofer look at the roof in the spring: shingle condition, the edge metal, the ridge, every vent and boot. A roof that is near the end is a roof that is leaving.
• Ask about hurricane straps or clips, the metal ties between the rafters and the walls. Houses built after the modern codes have them; older ones often do not, and adding them from the attic is a manageable retrofit. In many coastal states a wind mitigation inspection documents them and cuts the premium.
• The garage door. It is the largest opening in the house and the weakest, and when it fails the wind pressurizes the house and lifts the roof. A wind-rated door or a bracing kit is one of the cheapest, most effective upgrades there is.
• Shutters or panels for every window and door, fitted and labeled now, with the hardware in place. Plywood cut on the day is a bad second choice; tape does nothing.
• Impact windows and doors if you are replacing anyway. They cost more and they earn a discount on the policy.
• Trees: dead limbs down, big trees near the house looked at by an arborist, coconuts and fruit picked before a storm.

The water

• Flood insurance. The standard homeowner's policy does not cover flooding, and the federal program's policy takes thirty days to take effect. If you are near water, or in a low spot, or in an area that has flooded before, buy it in the spring. Nobody can buy it the week of the storm.
• Know your evacuation zone, and know that storm surge, not wind, is what kills people in hurricanes.
• Gutters and drains clear, downspouts extended, sump pump tested with a backup for the power outage.
• A supply of sandbags or flood barriers if the house has flooded before.

The plan

• The generator. Tested, fueled, and see the power outage piece in this section for the rules that keep it from killing anyone. A whole-house standby generator with an automatic transfer switch is the upgrade coastal homeowners rate highest after the fact.
• Water, food, medications, batteries, cash and fuel for a week. The stores open in a day; the power can be out for two weeks.
• Where you will go if you leave, and what you will take: the documents, the pets, the medications, the photos.
• Photographs of the house, every room, every side, the roof, the contents, on the phone and backed up somewhere not in the house.

The paper

• The policy, read, including the hurricane deductible, which is usually a percentage of the dwelling coverage and can be a large number. Know it now.
• The claims phone number and the policy number somewhere you can reach without power.
• Receipts and photos of the big-ticket contents.
• A list of local Pros: a roofer, a tree service, a restoration company, an electrician, that you found before the storm. After it, the ones who answer the phone are the ones who were already here.

After

Photograph before you touch anything. Tarp the roof, or have a local Pro do it; the policy expects you to prevent further damage. Open the claim. Sign nothing on the doorstep. And read the storm piece in this section for what the out-of-town trucks will offer and why to decline it.