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How to Prepare Your Home for a Natural Disaster

While hurricanes can strike at any time, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) identifies hurricane season in the Atlantic region as June 1 through November 30.1

Disasters are never fun. But when you're prepared, you'll know that you've done all you can to protect your family and home. With hurricane season upon us, now is the time to make sure you have a plan that keeps you and your family safe, as well as your home.


Make Sure Your Home Is Properly Insured

In a hurricane, potential damage comes from two sources: wind and flooding. Having proper insurance is a homeowner's best financial defense against disasters that could damage, cause major destruction, or even destroy your dwelling.

Talk to your insurance company to ensure that you are properly covered for both wind and flood damage. Proper coverage means both having coverage for damage due to windstorms and floods — and also having enough insurance that you could completely rebuild your house if need be.


Flood Insurance

Coverage for flood damage is often not included in standard insurance policies. You'll typically need to buy separate flood insurance, which protects you against damage due to flooding. Every state offers flood insurance to homeowners through a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) called the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP.2 Flood insurance is typically purchased through your insurance company, though the federal government administers it.

Your rate typically depends on the level of flood risk where your house is located. The higher your risk, the higher your premium may be. Check to see whether you're in a flood zone by using the FEMA flood map.3


Windstorm Insurance

While windstorm coverage is standard in many home insurance policies, it is often not standard if you live in a high-risk, hurricane-prone coastal area (like Fort Lauderdale or Jacksonville). Ask your insurance company whether your policy covers windstorm damage. If it doesn't, see if you can purchase this as an add-on. If not, you'll need to look into special windstorm coverage.

Ask your insurer to point you toward insurance companies that offer windstorm coverage in your area. The Florida Insurance Information Portal also links off to special insurers that offers windstorm coverage in high-risk areas of the state.4


Have Enough Insurance

It's a good idea to review your homeowner's insurance policy periodically to know what it covers and to determine whether you're adequately insured. There are two ways to insure your home: replacement cost coverage and guaranteed replacement cost coverage.5

With replacement cost coverage, if your home is damaged or destroyed, your insurance company pays up to your coverage limit. If you underestimated what it would cost to replace the home, you would pay the difference. With guaranteed cost coverage, you're guaranteed a full rebuild of your home at its current value.

Policyholders can typically review their homeowner’s insurance coverage online. If you're not sure how, call your insurance agent or your insurance company directly. If you purchased flood or windstorm insurance through a different insurer, you'll need to call those companies too.

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Did you know most insurance policies don't cover floods? You typically need to buy a separate flood insurance policy.

Insuring Your Personal Belongings

It's not just your house that needs protection in the event of hurricane damage; it's also the personal belongings. When you contact your insurance company, confirm that you have coverage for your personal belongings in the event of wind or flood damage.

There are two different types of insurance for your personal belongings: actual cash value (ACV) or replacement cost value (RCV).6 ACV insurance is less expensive but only covers you for the cash value of the items you own. (For example, that 5-year-old bedroom set is no longer worth what you paid for it new — let alone what it would cost to replace it now!)

RCV insurance can be more expensive but covers the full cost of replacing damaged items with similar new ones. If possible, opt for the RCV coverage.


Make an Emergency Kit

An emergency kit can come in handy if your home were to lose power for multiple days or if an evacuation is needed. A kit can be assembled by placing loose items in plastic bags and then putting them inside a duffel bag or plastic bin. If the kit becomes too big to manage, make two kits that are easy to carry.

Ready.gov recommends including these items in your emergency kit:7

  • Several days' worth of water (one gallon per person per day)
  • Three-day supply of non-perishable food
  • Battery-powered radio
  • Flashlight
  • First aid kit
  • Batteries
  • Whistle to call for help
  • Face mask
  • Plastic sheeting and duct tape to seal a room
  • Hand wipes
  • Garbage bags
  • Pliers or wrench to turn off utilities
  • Can opener
  • Local map
  • Cell phone charger
  • Any personal items you need such as medicine
  • Make sure to periodically replace items that can expire.

How to Protect Your Home Before a Hurricane

If you need to evacuate during a hurricane or flood, you can take the following steps ahead of time to keep your home protected:

  • Store all loose items you keep outside, like a grill, potted plants, or bicycles, inside. (Saltwater can ruin items in the event of a storm surge. During heavy winds, some items can become projectiles, potentially damaging your home or other people's dwellings.)
  • Make sure nothing is blocking the storm drains so that water doesn't flood your home.
  • Put sandbags around doors, windows and garage doors.
  • Close all interior doors.
  • Put plywood over windows.
  • Unplug appliances and move portable appliances off the ground or on a second floor since water can ruin them.
  • Turn off the power by setting the circuit breaker's main switch to "off."
  • Turn off the main water valve, located on the water meter.

With proper planning, you can rest easy knowing the right precautions were taken to protect your family and home in the event of severe weather. However, it's important to note that sometimes no matter what you do, natural disasters can have the upper hand. Dealing with the aftermath can be quite stressful, from physically cleaning up and understanding the financial means to do it.


Important information and steps you can take to prepare for disaster

  • If you and your family ever have to evacuate, please remember we have locations across the region, including Synovus ATMs, along major evacuation routes. Search for branch and ATM locations online or through the My Synovus app.
  • My Synovus, ATMs, and Telephone Banking all offer easy ways to check balances and transfer funds should you need to access your account during the storm or send money to a loved one in the affected areas.
  • Download the My Synovus app from Google Play or the Apple App Store and know your username and password. You may want to take a minute to update your settings to allow your security code to be sent by text instead of receiving a call to a landline.
  • Please be sure we have your most up-to-date personal contact information, and business contact information if applicable, on file in case we need to reach you.

 

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Important disclosure information

This content is general in nature and does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, financial or investment advice. You are encouraged to consult with competent legal, tax, accounting, financial or investment professionals based on your specific circumstances. We do not make any warranties as to accuracy or completeness of this information, do not endorse any third-party companies, products, or services described here, and take no liability for your use of this information.

  1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "NOAA predicts a near-normal 2023 Atlantic hurricane season," published May 23, 2023, accessed June 1, 2023.

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  2. FEMA, "National Flood Insurance Program," accessed June 1, 2023.

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  3. FEMA, "FEMA Flood Map Service Center: Search By Address," accessed June 1, 2023.

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  4. Florida Insurance Information Portal, "Disaster Insurance in Florida," accessed June 1, 2023.

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  5. Pat Howard, "What is guaranteed replacement cost?" Policygenius, published April 17, 2023, accessed June 1, 2023.

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  6. Pat Howard, "Actual cash value versus replacement cost home insurance," Policygenius, published January 31, 2023, accessed June 23, 2023.

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  7. Ready.gov, "Build A Kit," accessed June 23, 2023.

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