As many of us know, the official Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30. Historically, the season’s peak is between mid August and October. However, we know hurricanes have minds of their own and can occur at any point in the season. So why the spike halfway through the season and why should you make sure your assets are insured? Well, there are several reasons.
First, let’s discuss what factors typically drive the most storm activity between August and October. Warming ocean temperatures are a big factor. The waters can feel like a bathtub this time of year as they’ve spent all summer collecting the sun’s heat. Warmer water propels more storm activity. Another cause is the lack of wind shear. Stronger wind shear can help avert storm activity but by late August, we can’t count on that. Add the waves off of Africa and now we have three factors coming together that typically create a lovely tropical storm cocktail that could potentially turn into a hurricane.
So why does Joyner Family Insurance strongly encourage you to insure your valuable assets before a storm hits the radar? The answer is simple…hurricane moratoriums. Hurricane moratoriums, also known as binding restrictions, are a big deal with Florida insurance carriers. In the past, carriers typically waited roughly 24-48 hours until a storm was predicted to make landfall before issuing a moratorium. In more recent years, we’ve seen carriers place binding restrictions several days before major storm activity is nearing.
What does this really mean? This means that if a homeowner, for example, had been putting off purchasing home insurance to save money until a storm came, they would not be able to bind the policy until after the storm passed. This also impacts auto, renters, watercraft and other types of insurance policies other than just home. To sum it up, if an insurance carrier has issued a moratorium, you/we cannot get the insurance policy you might need or want so, don’t wait until it’s too late!
