HONOLULU (KHON2) — Are you covered for hurricane season? Your hurricane preparedness checklist should include updating your insurance.
According to DTRIC Insurance Vice President, Mike Mishima, it’s important to update your insurance before a moratorium is issued on existing policies by insurance companies.
“Once that moratorium is issued, you won’t be able to make any changes or add additional coverages to your policy,” stated Mishima.
DTRIC Insurance suggests documenting your belongings by taking before and after pictures to help the claim process. You are also advised to keep track of serial numbers for high-value items like TVs, laptops and computers.
As for what’s covered under hurricane insurance, that depends on the type of storm. According to Mishima, hurricanes have windspeeds of about 74 miles per hour or above – anything below would be considered a tropical storm. Hurricane insurance will typically cover whatever is covered under a standard homeowner’s policy.
The insurance company is reminding the public to properly store important documents in a ziplock bag or water-resistant containers. There is also the option to store your information electronically.
“Get an external hard drive,” said Mishima. “Another backup to that would be a cloud storage.”