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We all know that hurricanes hit Florida. And if you live in Florida, when a hurricane is brewing, the news stations seem to forget that there is any other news worth reporting. Minute by minute we watch as the storm slowly forms and then creeps towards the coast at speeds that can only be described as really really slow. Every breaking bulletin updates the progress of a storm that is closer to Africa than Florida. Then, with a burst of energy, they pick up speed and come onshore with inevitable destruction.
This storm is not a surprise. We watched it for a week. Yet every year my office is besieged with panic calls from clients, mortgage brokers and realtors who are trying to close on a house as the wind speed approaches 80 mph and the waves are relocating sail boats to parking lots that are 3 blocks from the beach.
It doesn’t have to be a panic. With a few precautionary steps, you can avoid postponing a closing. Every insurance company has a guideline detailing at what point they will close to new business in the face of a storm. Rather than go into a long detailed geography lesson about longitude and latitude, lets use a common sense technique.
Does the storm have a name? Then you should already have your policy.
You see, it doesn’t matter that you live in Jacksonville and the storm is in the Keys. Once a storm has passed Cuba, most carriers will shut down the whole State. In the industry, we call it “entering the box.”
It’s easy to avoid problems. If it looks like a storm is brewing, call your agent early. A lot of insurance companies will allow a policy to become effective during a storm as long as it is a new closing and the information was already in their system. Make sure they have you insured with an insurance company that will allow new policies issues during storm warnings.
Then you can close on your new home. By the way, you may want to get the phone number to the claims department. Storms that were headed for one side of Florida have been known to make a surprise appearance in other parts of the State.
By: Diane Howard
Article Source: www.ArticlesBase.com
Diane Howard and SJ Scaglione have many years of experiance navagating the difficult Florida property market at Florida ChoicePoint Insurance
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