gets.primecure.net

Category: Storm/Hurricane Tips

  • Make sure to drive safely this winter in the Gulf Coast

    While the Gulf Coast rarely sees snow in the winter months, safe driving is crucial as precipitation arrives in the form of rain and sleet. Though these tips are offered by the Iowa Department of Transportation, they still remain absolutely relevant given the ability of cold weather to cause unsafe driving conditions despite a lack of snow or hail.

      Do not overestimate your ability in bad driving conditions.
      Slow down. Wear seat belts. Never drink and drive.
      Put extra distance between you and the car in front of you.
      Don’t slam on the brakes. The wheels could lock, causing your car to slide.
      If your car starts to slide, turn your wheels in the direction in which it is sliding to straighten it out.
      Drive on interstates and one-way roads, whenever possible.
      Turn on your lights to see and be seen.
      Clear snow, sleet and ice off the headlights, tail lights, mirrors, and license plates. Stop the car when necessary to keep the windows clear.
      Be aware that bridges, ramps, and overpasses may freeze first.
      Check the windshield wipers to make sure they are not frozen to the windshield.
      Consider replacing your original wipers with heavy-duty ones.

    As always, safe driving in adverse conditions is much more important than arriving to a destination faster. Should you be involved in a car accident, keep close records of all the details and contacting a legal expert are crucial. Our office deals in personal injury and legal representation matters and would gladly discuss your rights in the event of such an accident.

    In the meantime, our offices only hope that ice and sleet will not be an issue this holiday season in the Gulf Coast!

  • Hurricane Watch: Ida

    Hurricane Ida is moving into the Gulf and current tracking has the storm reaching the Gulf Coast late Monday evening. WWL reports Ida is gaining strength over the warm Gulf water while also downgrading into a tropical storm.

    For more information on Ida as it becomes available, check out the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center site dedicated to the storm, located here, or continue to check into this blog.

  • NYT Profile on hurricane insurance while traveling

    While much of the nation has been spared any sort of adverse weather as a result of tropical storms or hurricanes, insuring one’s home is not the only way precaution may be taken by people, regardless on where they live. One helpful tip is to avoid any sort of delay or detriment to travel enjoyment by insuring your trip or vacation.

    Article writer Michelle Higgins recounts various trips she has taken and the security insurance now provides. She writes

    Several years passed before we returned to the Caribbean in hurricane season. In October 2007, my husband and I rented a house on the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico. The three-bedroom home was perched on a hilltop, and its pool offered clear views of the bioluminescent bay and remote beaches. The October rate was a bargain, and other than a few afternoon showers, we escaped any foul weather.

    This year, we decided to press our luck again. Why? Because we were getting hurricane insurance.

    Basic travel insurance typically covers hurricanes or other unexpected weather events. This can offer peace of mind to travelers going to a storm-prone region. If a hurricane shuts down the airport or wipes out the hotel, for example, you don’t lose the money you spent on the vacation.

    But some companies have started going a step further, offering more specific storm-related benefits like hurricane-warning protection. With this type of insurance, travelers don’t have to wait until a hurricane ruins their vacation to get their money back. Rather, hurricane-warning coverage generally allows cancellation of a trip within 24 hours of departure if the destination is under an official hurricane warning from the National Hurricane Center.

    The article goes on but the general idea is that a variety of situation-specific provisions exist. By researching before your trip and looking into anything a travel agent or the company you are buying through, or in the event it is a trip just researching the internet or your rental car company, valuable time and money can be preserved. Some companies might let you go on the trip again while others may simply reimburse a portion of your trip. Either way, being an educated traveler can be quite helpful when hurricanes sweep through, if they do. And if they don’t, at least knowing you’re protected can make travelers less wary about the weather day to day.

  • Hurricane Watch:

    Per the Examiner, storms may finally reach the Gulf Coast.

    A new system taking shape has a fairly high chance of becoming a depression, and possibly tropical storm, on either September 1 or 2, according to the National Hurricane Center. It is located east of Puerto Rico near the Lesser Antilles.
    The good news is this: the persistent trough over the east will likely steer this tropical cyclone away from the U.S. coast just as we saw with “Bill” and “Danny”. The system has a very low chance of affecting Texas based on expected steering winds.

    National Hurricane Center

  • Calls for more tax benefits to Chinese drywall victims; levee plan questioned

    A little bit of ‘News in Short’
    Miami Herald: more tax benefits for Chinese drywall victims

    Scientific tests have shown that toxic China-made drywall installed in homes beginning in 2001 emits harmful gases that corrode copper wiring and other parts of people’s homes. In addition, these gases harm people’s health, making many homes uninhabitable. Homeowners must not be left to shoulder this burden alone…

    Although the casualty loss deduction allows victims to deduct the home’s loss of market value from their taxes, the current tax code does not allow them to deduct for the additional living expenses incurred when homeowners must move and live elsewhere to escape toxic drywall emissions.

    Levee plans in doubt

    Frustration and less-than-kind words were expressed at two state coastal restoration and protection meetings recently because of a letter sent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that raised questions about construction-related permits for at least two portions of a long-awaited, massive levee system in Terrebonne Parish.

    The letter, dated Aug. 13 and signed by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, outlined concerns the environmental groups have voiced for several years about the entire Morganza to the Gulf project, which would cover lower parts of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

  • Weather radios a safe buy while hurricane season is afoot

    Just a helpful reminder that buying a weather radio may be a good idea before it is a necessity. Various sites around the internet are selling them, as are businesses in areas around the Gulf Coast, and some decent deals might be something to jump on. One site, for instance, is selling a model for 50% off, only $18 + shipping. The model includes features such as

    Receives all 7 NOAA Weather/Hazard Channels
    Telescopic Antenna
    Uses 4 “AA” Batteries (Not Included)
    AM/FM Weather Band Radio Receiver
    120V AC Adapter Included for Desktop Operation
    Emergency Alert Siren
    Handle For Easy Carrying
    Earphone Jack

    Just something to consider while things are quiet (and hopefully remain that way!)

  • Consider trip insurance this hurricane season

    Virginia’s WSLS recently did a piece on traveling and the use of travelers insurance that is very relevant to anyone across the United States who may be visiting or doing business in regions such as the Gulf Coast. When visiting areas like Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi or Texas, travelers may want to consider the slightly extra fees to guarantee their trip is financially supported in the event hurricane season flips on it.

    Bradford tells WSLS travelers can expect to pay anywhere from $50 to hundreds of thousands of dollars for trip insurance, but she says it pays for itself if they have to use it.

    “If it’s a situation where you’ve paid $4,000 for a trip and it gets cancelled because of a hurricane and you didn’t take out any insurance, you’re in bind,“ said Bradford.

    From talking with several travel companies and searching traveling websites online, WSLS found that, depending on the company and your policy, if a storm damages your hotel before your departure, shuts down your airport or even if a hurricane’s predicted path is near the location of your upcoming insured vacation it is possible to get reimbursed.

    The piece also mentions reading the fine print and possibly checking the insurer through the Better Business Bureau before handing over any sizable amount of money for protection. As for cruises, the article notes, insurance may be not as viable an option, or even necessary:

    If you have to cash in your trip insurance, Bradford says the wait time varies depending on the policy, but says the average turnaround is about 6 weeks.

    According to AAA, it’s rare that cruise ships will cancel their plans because of hurricanes.
    They say, most of the time, the cruise ships will just change their routes.

    Just a good amount of tips for people who may want to travel at the end of this summer.

  • CNN Money: 5 Tips in the event of hurricane damage

    An article from 2005 while Hurricane Katrina raged through the States remains relevant today.

    In today’s five tips, we’re going to tell you what you need to know about your insurance if your home as been damaged or destroyed in the hurricane.

    1. Contact your insurer, stat.
    2. Document, document, document.
    3. Live with it…for now.
    4. Watch out for scammers.
    5. Protest your settlement.

    Each tip carries with it a brief description of what to do. Take, for instance, CNN’s suggestion for “Living with it now”

    Make only temporary repairs before the insurance adjustor has a chance to come in and access the damage. Of course you should not compromise your safety. But if you have a leaky roof, just put some pots and pans around instead of having the damage fixed by a professional.

    This is a good way to make sure that you are reimbursed for any repair. If you are currently underinsured or you have a sizable unreinbursed property loss estimate, you may be able to deduct this from your taxes.

    First, subtract any insurance you anticipate receiving. Then subtract $100. The loss must be further reduced by 10 percent of your adjusted gross income, according to Tom Ochsenschlager of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The balance remaining is what you can deduct from your taxes.

    Just some things to keep in mind in case hurricane season doesn’t remain as quiet as it has been.

  • States rolling dice by not seeking reinsurance

    The New York Times recently brought up a casualty of the economic climate facing many states: the cost/benefit analysis being made by states in regards to insurance against dangerous storms. Often extremely costly and unnecessary, this reinsurance looks to bolster defenses against disastrous natural calamities but, with budget cuts at a premium, states are beginning to count every dollar and looking to go without.

    Public insurance programs in some coastal states are flirting with the notion of saving millions of dollars every year by shrinking or canceling the coverage they buy from private reinsurers — the deep-pocketed companies that insure insurers whose exposure to loss exceeds the budgets of some nations.

    States are the insurers in this case. And they are either tired of paying piles of cash for reinsurance policies that are rarely needed, or too broke financially to maintain coverage that has saved state residents from paying billions in hurricane damage claims. In the parlance of the insurance business, without coverage or a hedge against their expensive risks, they are “running naked.”

    Here’s the bet: Save hundreds of millions with no disaster, or pay perhaps billions with one.

    Two of the nation’s biggest states are looking to gamble on the odds of a disaster-free summer:

    Texas let its policy die at the end of May, less than a year after reinsurers paid $1.5 billion in claims related to Hurricane Ike. That’s not a bad return on the state’s investment. Texans paid $180 million for the policy.

    Texas will buck this hurricane season with no reinsurance.

    California is also looking to reduce its coverage.

    Overall an unfortunate situation that will leave many state budget workers hoping they made the right decision, depending on what decision they make.

  • Three storms pop up in 24 hours

    In something around 24 hours, 3 tropical storms have popped up according to the National Weather Service. While two (Ana and Bill) are still off into the Atlantic, Claudette hit Florida late last night.

    Now is as good a time as any to prepare for any future storms that may come. You can check out our section on various storm and hurricane preparedness tips, available here, and make sure that your home preparation checklist is complete before the height of storm season gets here.