Main Blog Article Content
5 MIN. READ
Key takeaways:
- South Florida is vulnerable to hurricanes making landfall between June and November. Financial preparedness ahead of the hurricane season can make a stressful situation much easier to navigate.
- In addition to building an emergency fund, you should organize your important financial documents and review your insurance coverage.
- Power Financial Credit Union can help with financial planning and keeping your money easy to access.
When hurricane warnings start flashing on your phone, financial stress is the last thing you want. That is why we recommend taking action now. There’s plenty of time left to add money to your emergency fund or update your insurance coverage.
We’re here to share some hurricane financial planning tips and help you create a safety net to protect your family, home, finances, and peace of mind.
Build an Emergency Fund
We strongly recommend building your emergency fund as much as possible in the months before the Atlantic hurricane season. You might have to use this fund to cover:
- Gas, food, and lodging if you have to evacuate.
- Insurance deductibles in case of damage to your home or vehicle.
- Minor home repairs and cleanup costs, if filing a claim doesn’t make sense.
- Higher food and gas prices if damage from the hurricane makes your area hard to reach.
- Upfront accommodations fees if your home becomes unhabitable (until your insurance can reimburse you).
Emergency Credit Card: Good or Bad Idea?
Should you charge emergency expenses on a credit card? Ideally, you should use your emergency fund instead.However, we understand you might not have enough time to build a sizeable emergency fund before hurricane season. In that case, having a credit card reserved for emergencies is better than finding yourself without.
Use this card sparingly and consider lowering your credit balance to avoid going too deep into debt if you need to make emergency purchases.
Preserving Important Financial Documents
Losing important documents is stressful, and replacing them takes time. Plus, having these documents on hand can speed things up when applying for assistance programs or filing insurance claims. It’s also an opportunity to review these important records and organize them.We recommend preserving physical copies of the following:
- IDs, SSN cards, passports, and birth certificates.
- Insurance policies and contact information for your insurance agents.
- Property records, the deed to your home, and your car title.
- A copy of your bank account numbers.
- Statements for your different financial accounts, including credit cards, retirement accounts, investment accounts and loans.
- Your debit and credit cards.
- Medical records and prescriptions.
If staying home during a hurricane is safe, keep these essential documents in a waterproof safe. A small, portable, and lockable waterproof case is your best option if you have to evacuate.
You should also look into getting a satellite phone you can keep safely locked away with these documents (ideally with a full battery).
Do You Have Enough Insurance?
While gathering your important financial documents, take a few minutes to read through your insurance policies.Here are a few questions to answer:
- Is all the information up to date?
- Does your homeowner’s policy insure your home and belongings to their full value?
- How much is your deductible? Is there a separate hurricane or named storm deductible?
- Do you have coverage for damage from high winds under the hazard insurance portion of your policy?
- Standard homeowner’s policies don’t cover flood damage. Do you have a separate policy?
- Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage kicks in if you need to stay in a hotel due to damage to your home. Does your insurer offer it?
Insurers won’t let you change your coverage at the last minute. If you decide to get more coverage, do it ahead of the hurricane season.
Catch Up on Your Bills
Hurricanes can leave millions without power, sometimes for weeks. While utility companies are usually very understanding in these situations, you can end up with late fees on your account if you fail to pay a bill on time due to a power outage.It’s a good idea to set up automated bill pay before hurricane season or get into the habit of paying your bills in advance.
Financial Recovery Resources
There are some great resources designed to help you if a hurricane impacts your finances, home, or job.We’ve compiled a short list:
- FEMA has several programs for the uninsured or underinsured, including unemployment assistance, counseling, and more.
- After major disasters, the American Red Cross often provides financial assistance for essentials.
- Disaster Unemployment Assistance is a program that funds unemployment benefits after disasters and helps with re-employment.
- The Small Business Administration offers low-interest disaster loans to businesses and individuals.
- The State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program can help with emergency repairs to your home.
Hurricane Financial Planning With Power Financial Credit Union
At Power Financial Credit Union, we’ve been serving South Florida communities since 1951 and fully understand the financial challenges hurricanes can bring.Our trusted advisors are here to help you review your finances and develop a strategy to build your emergency fund. Plus, you can count on us to deliver convenient banking experiences online, via mobile, and in-person through our network of financial centers and shared branches, keeping your money easy to access.
Contact us to learn more about personalized financial advice to build your emergency fund.