Hurricane Preparation, Protocol, and Policy for Property Management

In this episode of the Property Management Expert Series we will educate homeowners, tenants, and vacationers on ways they can prepare to make an oncoming hurricane less detrimental. 

 

Preparation for an Oncoming Storm

A homeowner should be prepared and have a vendor contracted who agrees to secure and then evaluate or repair the home, if required. At Island Realty we communicate with owners on an annual schedule to notify, recommend, and plan for hurricane season contracting.

If a home has automatic hurrican shutters and you only have to push a few buttons to activate them or they can be easily rolled down from the interior, then your property manager can probably take care of that, but you will want to confirm this prior to the hurricane season. If they need to be manually installed, you will need to go through the same process of having a vendor contracted to do the work. Many insurance companies will require this to get the premium discount for having hurricane shutters.

For annual rental homes, the tenants would be responsible for securing all of their own belongings prior to evacuating. A very important item that is often overlooked is the trees on the property. Trees should be pruned annually away from the home and checked by an arborist for health. If a tree is not healthy and the roots are week, it wouldn't take much to topple it when the ground becomes saturated.

 

Insurance Policies

• Policy on oceanfront homes, type of policy covered and typical costs?/ : can be self-insured if no loan, max of flood insurance up to $250K, policy for non-beach homes, also need wind and hail, flood, and regular hazard

• Renter's Insurance check: Wind and hail, flood, and regular hazard, recommended

• Travel insurance for guests cover trip if mandatory evacuation occurs

• Diversify your broker to write a policy outside of the area, agents have caps on the number of specific types of homes they can insure, may get a lower rate. 

 

Vacation Rental Home Protocol

• Urge insurance checks at the start/end of hurricane season, request Island Realty be added as an Additional Insured (Loss Payee) on policies

• Set up contracts for owner to secure property

• Suggest resources for making recovery plans

• Communicate status updates pre-season, and as storms approach

• Property Managers will dispatch to secure outdoor furniture, etc. if not completed before storm approach

 

After the Storm

Issue emergency emails with owners and tenants to notify status of home, dispatch as soon as possible to check properties after storm and communication with owners is instate recovery plan, property managers will supervise recovery and repair plans, and work to get homes back in working order for occupancy as soon as possible. Communicate status of area to target rentals, etc. continue marketing and co-op with other accommodations/destinations if necessary.