Cooperative Living June 2018 - 8

Storm season is here!
BePrepared
H
urricanes - and the potential for
hurricanes - get lots of headlines
each summer and fall.
But don't underestimate the destructive
force of summer storms.
" With hurricanes, you know they're coming,
sometimes for three days or longer, " explains
Rick Mattox Sr., vice president of claims for
Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co.
Severe summer storms, Mattox notes, " can
develop quickly, come through suddenly and
cause a lot of damage before you can really
anticipate the potential severity. "
Thunderstorms have a direct impact on
more people and homes in the United States
than hurricanes. And every thunderstorm
produces lightning, according to the National
Weather Service.
Site preparations can help homeowners be
ready for whatever the summer storm season
serves up. The Insurance Institute for
Business & Home Safety (IBHS) offers the
following recommendations, and you'll find
more at disastersafety.org/thunderstorms.
Preventing Lightning Damage
A whole-house or -building surge protector,
the IBHS notes, is the best starting point for
reducing the risk of lightning damage, along
with localized surge protectors for power cords
of electronic equipment and any telephone
and cable or satellite television lines.
A licensed electrician or home or building
inspector should review the power, telephone,
electrical and TV connections to your home
to make sure you have adequate grounding of
the power-line connection and your powerdistribution
panel.
Limiting Windborne Hazards
* Replace gravel or rock landscaping
materials with softer material such
as mulch.
* Trim trees and shrubs away from
structures, and remove any weakened
sections of trees that might easily break.
* If a storm is imminent, secure or remove
lawn furniture, planters, bird feeders and
decorative objects. " If you have the
opportunity, you definitely want to secure
anything that the wind could pick up and
project against your home or your
vehicle, " Mattox says.
Protecting Entry Points
* Protect all openings from high wind,
flying debris and water damage. That
includes windows, entry doors, sliding
glass doors and garage doors.
* If your garage door doesn't have a pressure
rating sticker, have it evaluated and, if
necessary, have a garage door bracing
system installed to prevent wind from
blowing in the door.
* Seal openings, cracks and holes on the
outside of your home to keep out winddriven
water. Fill holes where wires, cables
and pipes enter and exit the home, and
seal around electrical boxes and circuit
breaker panels. Seal cracks around wall
outlets, dryer vents, bathroom and
kitchen vents and wall lights.
Keeping a Roof Over Your Head
* Make sure the roof sheathing is strongly
fastened to the roof frame.
* Seal the roof deck to minimize water
getting into your attic if the roof cover is
blown off.
* Re-attach loose shingles with roofing
cement to prevent them from blowing off.
* If you have vinyl or aluminum soffit
covers, strengthen their attachment to
the walls and fascia.
* Create a continuous load path in your
home, which means tying the roof to the
walls and the walls to the foundation
using metal connectors such as hurricane
straps, clips or ties.
Mattox notes that hailstorms, which are
more common in spring and summer, are
particularly roof-unfriendly.
Hail " doesn't discriminate; it damages
everything that it hits, " he says. " With hail
and roof damage, a lot of times you don't know
there's damage for some days, weeks or even
months, until somebody happens to look at the
roof, because it's hard to see from the ground. "
When Farm Bureau insurance professionals
serve an area affected by a hailstorm, he notes,
" we continue to get claims in for weeks and
months at a time as homeowners discover
that they have damage to their roofs. "
Reporting insurance claims quickly helps
ensure efficient service
If your vehicle or property has sustained storm
damage, filing your insurance claim right away
can help you get served in a timely manner.
" The sooner claims are reported, the
sooner we are able to assess the impact of the
storm, " Mattox notes.
After a severe storm, he adds, Farm Bureau
insurance staff gear up to handle a higher
volume of claims, using additional claims
adjusters and conveniences such as drive-up
claims centers when necessary.
" Whenever you suffer a loss it's important
to first protect your property from further
damage, then call your claim in to your
insurance company as soon as possible.
When it's possible, taking photographs of the
damage is helpful when immediate but
temporary repairs need to be made. " n
6 | Cooperative Living | June 2018
www.co-opliving.com
http://www.disastersafety.org/thunderstorms http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living June 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living June 2018
