Is your home prepared for hurricanes or wildfires? If severe weather strikes, does your insurance policy cover flood damage? What about wind damage? We've got the answers to those questions and more in this interview.
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00:00 One week after Hurricane Edalia,
00:01 we're still very much in the
00:03 middle of hurricane season.
00:04 So is your home prepared for a
00:06 severe weather threat and what is
00:08 and isn't covered by your insurance?
00:10 We're here with some answers.
00:11 Is Jim Walker Finney and he is
00:13 vice president of property claims
00:15 for travelers insurance.
00:16 Jim, thank you so much for joining us.
00:18 Yeah, thank you Jeff.
00:20 Wonderful to speak with you today.
00:21 And likewise Jim.
00:22 So Jim for those impacted by Hurricane
00:24 Edalia or really anybody right
00:26 after a landfalling hurricane,
00:27 what should they do?
00:28 Right away if their home sustained damage.
00:31 First, when it's safe,
00:32 take steps to reduce the possibility
00:34 of additional property damage.
00:36 Sometimes that includes temporary repairs.
00:38 It could include hiring a vendor
00:40 to board up windows,
00:42 tarp the roof, etc.
00:44 Clean up spills or debris.
00:46 Make sure if you do that though
00:48 to keep all of the receipts,
00:51 your insurance carrier will likely
00:53 reimburse you for the damage.
00:55 So if you're not prepared,
00:57 your insurance carrier will likely
00:59 reimburse you for those activities
01:01 and for making those temporary repairs.
01:03 It's also very important at that
01:06 time to separate inventory from
01:08 items that are damaged versus
01:10 items that are not damaged.
01:11 Create a list of contents,
01:13 maybe a description of those items,
01:15 the name of the manufacturer,
01:17 the brand name as well.
01:19 If you remember the date of the
01:21 purchase or how much you purchased
01:23 a particular item for capture,
01:25 that information certainly pulling
01:27 out the iPhone and talking and
01:29 doing a video or photographs is
01:31 also very helpful for creating an
01:33 inventory of anything that is damaged.
01:35 That's really good information
01:37 'cause sometimes I think some
01:39 people even myself may have been
01:41 or may be reluctant to put those
01:43 band-aids on the situation without
01:45 the first intervention from the
01:47 insurance company.
01:48 So it's good to know that we can do that.
01:51 Just document everything.
01:52 Wildfires in Hawaii have been
01:54 tragic and deadly.
01:55 Many other parts of the US
01:57 are prone to wildfires.
01:58 Or how can you best protect your home
02:01 from fires during a hot dry summer?
02:04 You know the the best way to protect
02:06 your home and it's it's critically
02:09 important to build a defensible
02:10 space around your property.
02:12 So remove that dead or dry vegetation,
02:15 remove trees close to a structure,
02:17 remove the fuel essentially that a fire
02:20 will will feed on and then you can
02:22 build a new home that a fire will
02:25 will feed on immediately around the
02:27 structure and certainly if you're
02:29 building a new home or a new business
02:32 or a new structure or you're making
02:34 home improvements really trying to
02:36 buy products that are fire resistant
02:38 and contain fire resistant materials.
02:40 There are a lot of good fire
02:43 resistant roofing and decks and
02:44 porches and windows that can all
02:46 assist greatly with fire mitigation.
02:49 And Jim, another major problem that
02:51 we see sometimes tropical,
02:52 sometimes otherwise flooding.
02:54 And is flood damage covered by some
02:56 homeowners insurance policies?
02:58 Yeah, typically no Jeff.
02:59 It is not covered by the typical
03:02 homeowners insurance policy.
03:03 Perils like wind damages,
03:05 hail damages.
03:06 Those will be covered by a typical
03:08 homeowners insurance policy.
03:10 Flood will not be so it's vitally
03:12 important if you live in a low
03:15 lying area or an area that is
03:17 prone to flooding to look into
03:20 purchasing a flood insurance policy
03:22 through the National Flood Insurance
03:24 program. All excellent advice.
03:25 Jim Wooker, Fittie,
03:26 Vice President of property
03:28 claims for travelers insurance.
03:29 Jim, thank you so much.
03:31 Really good information.
03:33 Thank you, Jeff.