Summer is here again, and with summer comes the possibility of hurricanes. Without driving yourself crazy, there are several things that you can do to prepare for a storm that will help bring your stress level down when the time comes.

1) Plan your Evacuation Route- Figure out a plan in advance for where you and your family will go to ride out the storm. Filling your tank with gas when the storm is announced to be in the box will ensure that you do not have to spend hours driving around looking for gas at the last minute. Also keep in mind that roads may be clogged with other travelers who have the same idea you do. You may want to keep cash on hand as severe storms can knock out whole power grids ,and that means ability to get cash from ATM’s may be limited.

2) Remove Items from Yard and Patio-Anything in your yard or patio may become high- powered missiles in the event of a major hurricane. Put any patio furniture in your shed or garage, or bring them inside your home, to keep them from flying around during a storm, and potentially damaging other homes, or hurting people.

3) Have your insurance documents on hand-Ask your agent for a copy of your declarations pages as well as your policy jacket for each of your property policies, so that you have it in hand in case a storm hits, along with the claim phone numbers for your insurance companies.

4) Keep an Electronic Record of your property-Having photos of your home, your personal belongings, and your vehicles BEFORE a storm hits, allows you the peace of mind to be able to show the adjuster what your property looked like before the storm hit and after. Email your photos and any videos to yourself prior to the storm, to time stamp when the photos were taken and sent. Also, if you recently purchased any big ticket items such as electronics or furniture, email yourself the receipts for those as well.

5) Make A Checklist- of the supplies you and your family will need both during and after the storm. Batteries, water, non-perishable food, a first aid kit, a battery operated fan in case the power goes out, as well as a battery operated phone charger, just in case.

Hurricanes are a fact of life in Florida, but we can get through them, and if we prepare for them
in advance, we can avoid the added stress of not knowing how to handle the unexpected.