Checklist: How to Prepare for Hurricane Season

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that hurricanes cause an average of $20.5 billion, per event. With another “above-average” year anticipated for 2022, smart property owners should be preparing now for hurricane season – to protect their properties, their occupants and employees, and their investment.

Aside from the obvious physical damages a Hurricane can cause, you want to ensure you have a contingency plan, and the right team, in place.

We’ve put together this checklist to help make sure you’re ready:

Hurricane Preparedness Checklist

Assemble Your Team

It’s important that everyone on your team be on the same page with hurricane preparedness. At minimum, make sure your team includes a senior officer of the company, your insurance agent, a reliable remediation contractor, an architect and/or an engineer, and a water loss consultant and remediation contractor. If you have employees operating inside the building and/or data and systems that your business relies on, you will also want to make sure you have someone from your IT and HR/Risk management departments on the team.

It’s especially important that you identify and contract with external remediation providers in advance of hurricane season. In the event that there is a quick-forming major hurricane, it is likely you will not be able to find good contractors with availability to help you in a timely fashion. It pays to already be on the client list in advance.

Additionally, make sure you have contact information for all of your team members readily available and easy to locate.

Document Your Contingency Plans

It’s important that everyone on your team know what to do in the event of a disaster, and also that you are adequately prepared to recover from the event. Start by contacting your insurance agent to review your insurance coverage. Make sure that your limits and coverages are appropriate to your risk exposure.

If you have businesses of your own operating in your buildings, work with senior management, IT, and HR to make sure you can quickly and easily get back in business in the event of disruption. Document and communicate plans with the entire team so they will know what to do too.

When Disaster Strikes

For most businesses, disaster is a “when,” not an “if.” From minor disruptions, such as loss of power or data, to major disruptions, such as flooding, property damage, and regional infrastructural disruptions, it’s a rare company or building that is never impacted by disaster. When your property and/or business is affected, stay calm and follow the plan. Contact everyone on the preparedness team immediately, and make sure communications are open to the entire business team.

If your building has experienced water damage, it’s critical that it be addressed within 48 hours to prevent additional expensive damage. Make sure your remediation contractor and water loss consultant get on site right away to assess and remediate.

A Final Note

Remember that even if your buildings are not directly impacted by hurricane losses, they can be impacted indirectly when local and regional infrastructure is damaged. In the immediate aftermath of such damage, federal and state funds usually flow in to provide relief. However, it’s unwise to rely on this relief as a long-term plan.

Consider, for instance, that the State of Florida ran out of funds to address damage from Hurricane Michael. Some municipalities continue to wait to receive promised funds, and meanwhile critical infrastructure remains unrepaired in those areas.

Put your own plans in place to protect your investments, to give yourself peace of mind this hurricane season.

If you don’t already have a water loss consultant on your team, contact GLE today to ensure priority treatment in the event of a loss.