Each hurricane season, homeowners are reminded to stock supplies, install shutters, and prepare for potential power outages. While those steps are important, they represent only a small part of protecting significant personal and business assets.
For successful families, entrepreneurs, family offices, and owners of multiple properties, the greatest financial losses often result from issues that are not immediately obvious until after the storm has passed.
The following planning considerations deserve attention well before a named storm is approaching.
1. Know What Isn't Covered
One of the most common misconceptions is that 'hurricane damage' is a single insurance event. In reality, losses may involve wind, storm surge, inland flooding, sewer backup, mold, power interruption, fallen trees, and loss of use, each potentially subject to different coverages, exclusions, or deductibles.
2. Revisit Property Values Before They’re Tested
Construction costs often increase significantly after major storms due to labor shortages, material availability, and demand. Properties with renovations, custom features, or unique finishes should have replacement values reviewed regularly to reduce the risk of underinsurance.
3. Think Beyond the Primary Residence
Families with multiple homes should establish written storm preparation procedures for each property, including responsibilities for caretakers, generators, vehicles, boats, outdoor furnishings, and documenting property conditions before and after a storm.
For families with significant tangible assets, planning should extend beyond the residence itself. Collector automobiles, exotic vehicles, and other specialty vehicles should have predetermined relocation plans before a storm develops. Whenever practical, vehicles should be moved well outside the projected storm path and stored in an elevated, enclosed facility that is not susceptible to flooding. Certain high-net-worth insurers also offer catastrophe vehicle relocation services for eligible clients, although these programs vary by carrier and policy.
4. Inventory More Than Your Home
Photograph valuable assets including fine art, jewelry, wine collections, watches, antiques, furnishings, and business equipment. Store appraisals, inventories, ownership records, and photographs securely in the cloud.
Documentation alone is not enough. Families should identify which assets would receive priority if evacuation becomes necessary. A written relocation plan enables family members, household staff, or property managers to act quickly rather than making decisions under time pressure.
5. Business Continuity is More Than Insurance
Business interruption coverage is only one component of continuity planning. Organizations should review remote work capabilities, cloud backups, decision-making authority, vendor dependencies, succession planning, and client communication procedures.
6. Review High-Value Collections
Certain collections require specialized planning, particularly items dependent on climate control or specialized storage. Understand both physical protection measures and insurance requirements.
Fine art collections deserve their own emergency response plan. Portable works should be prioritized in advance and, where appropriate, relocated to an interior safe room away from windows and exterior walls or to a secure off-site storage facility outside the projected impact area. Outdoor sculptures, artwork, and decorative objects should be brought indoors whenever practical. Larger pieces that cannot be relocated should be professionally secured and protected in accordance with conservator recommendations.
Museums and cultural institutions routinely prioritize collections, relocate vulnerable objects away from flood-prone areas, and maintain written emergency procedures before hurricane season. Families with significant collections can benefit from adopting the same disciplined approach. Current appraisals, provenance records, photographs, and digital inventories should also be maintained in secure cloud storage to facilitate recovery and insurance claims.
7. Consider Family Logistics
Identify emergency decision-makers, communication plans, temporary housing arrangements, and ensure legal, financial, and estate planning documents remain accessible if primary residences become unavailable.
8. Protect Your Digital Life
Maintain secure backups of financial records, estate planning documents, passwords, photographs, insurance policies, and other critical digital assets.
9. Understand Waiting Periods
Certain coverages, particularly flood insurance, may include waiting periods before becoming effective. Planning should occur well before storms develop.
10. Assemble Your Advisory Team Before You Need Them
Recovery often requires coordination among insurance advisors, property managers, attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, family office professionals, restoration specialists, and security providers.
Final Thought
The strongest hurricane preparedness plans are rarely defined by how many supplies are stored in the garage. They are defined by how effectively a family or business can recover when the unexpected occurs.
For ultra-high-net-worth families and business owners, preparation extends well beyond protecting buildings. It involves protecting continuity, preserving valuable assets, minimizing disruption, and ensuring the people responsible for those assets know exactly what to do before the first storm warning is issued. That includes having a clear plan to relocate irreplaceable vehicles, fine art, sculptures, and other tangible assets before evacuation routes become congested and transportation options become limited.
Suggested Sources
· FEMA. Protecting Your Property from Hurricane Damage.
· FEMA. Emergency Financial First Aid Kit(EFFAK).
· Smithsonian Institution. How the Smithsonian Prepares for Hurricanes and Flooding.
· Smithsonian National Museum of American History. When Disaster Strikes: Preparing for Collections Emergencies.
· Smithsonian Institution Archives. Emergency Preparedness guidance.
· American Institute for Conservation, National Heritage Responders emergency guidance.
Lisa Gelles serves as Executive Director at Howard Insurance. She can be reached at info@howard-insurance.com
This paper is strictly for educational purposes and does not amount to legal or tax advice.
