Your Guide to Mount Pleasant, SC Hurricane Insurance

Hurricanes that form in the Atlantic Ocean sometimes make landfall, causing a great deal of destruction along the Eastern Seaboard. The coastal city of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina is among the places that can face significant damage.

While no storm has hit this city as hard a Hurricane Hugo in 1989, it is a risk that residents need to be prepared for by ensuring they have sufficient hurricane insurance. To learn more about how you can get the right coverage against hurricanes and tropical storms, find an independent insurance agent with an office in or near Mount Pleasant.

What Is Mount Pleasant Hurricane Insurance?

Hurricane insurance is not something you buy on its own. Rather, it is coverage that is attached to other policies either as part of the standard coverage or as an add-on endorsement.

When hurricanes strike, they can damage homes, vehicles, businesses, and other property. You will want to make sure that hurricane damage is included in the policies you currently have. You will also want to be sure that other hazards associated with hurricanes, such as tornadoes, flooding, and prolonged power outages, are also included in your coverage.

Independent agents can help you review your current policies to ensure that you are suitably covered against hurricanes. Your agent may even be able to make recommendations for ways you can get more comprehensive coverage at a lower cost. Talk to a local insurance agent to get more information.

Cover Your Mount Pleasant Home with Sufficient Hurricane Insurance

If a hurricane makes landfall anywhere near Mount Pleasant, your home is likely to sustain some damage. You will want to be sure that you have the right coverage in place to cover the cost to rebuild, repair, or replace damaged property.

Your homeowners insurance, condo insurance, or renters insurance may or may not include hurricane coverage. If it does not, you will want to be sure to either add it with a special endorsement or consider purchasing a different policy that will provide you with the coverage you need.

Specifically, you will want to be sure that you are covered against wind damage, water damage, and the possibility of having an uninhabitable home.

Wind Damage

Even if Mount Pleasant is just on the periphery of a hurricane, your property can be damaged by high winds. These winds can rip shingles from roofs, loosen siding, cause trees to uproot and fall onto property like your house or shed, and cause longlasting power outages with may cause perishable foods to go bad or sump pumps to fail. Sometimes these storms even spawn tornadoes.

Most home insurance policies cover against all these risks, but some policies require you to purchase a special endorsement to cover against windstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. It is important that you know what your current policy does and does not cover.

Water Damage

If your roof is damaged or a window is blown in, torrential downpours can allow rainwater to enter your home and cause significant damage to your property. In this instance, your home, condo, or renters insurance is likely to provide you with compensation.

However, if your property is damaged by rising waters, this damage is not covered. To ensure that you are covered against damage caused by flash flooding and storm surges, you will need to supplement your home coverage with flood insurance. A local independent agent can help you acquire an affordable policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Uninhabitable Home

If the hurricane damage to your home is severe, you may need to obtain temporary accommodations while repairs are made. Your home insurance policy can cover the cost of a hotel, meals, and other associated expenses if your home is deemed temporarily uninhabitable due to a covered event.

Let a local independent insurance agent help you make certain that your home insurance policy has all the coverage you need to sufficiently reimburse you for damage to your most valuable property.

Make Sure Your Vehicle Is Covered against Hurricane Damage

Covering your vehicle against hurricane damage is as easy as ensuring that your car insurance policy includes comprehensive insurance. If you are still paying for your vehicle or you are leasing it, chances are good that you already have this coverage, since lenders and dealerships will typically require it in these cases. Gap insurance is also recommended if you are in the early stages of a new car loan.

Comprehensive Insurance

Comprehensive insurance can compensate you for damage to your vehicle, as long as it is not collision-related. So if a tree falls on your car or your vehicle is swept up in rising waters never to be seen again, at least you know you can be compensated for its actual value.

Gap Insurance

Speaking of your car’s actual value, did you know that the value of a new car depreciates significantly in the first three years of ownership? If your car loan is currently at an amount that is greater than the blue-book value of your car, gap insurance can ensure that you will not be left still owing money for your vehicle if it is totaled by a hurricane.

You can talk to your local insurance agent to learn more about how comprehensive and gap insurance can help you.

Protect Your Mount Pleasant Business with Suitable Hurricane Insurance

Business owners in Mount Pleasant can get coverage against hurricane damage by carrying both business insurance and commercial flood insurance. Together, these policies provide coverage against wind-damaged property, flood-damaged property, and loss of income due to closure.

Wind-Damaged Property

If high winds damage your business-owned property, the commercial property coverage in your business insurance policy can provide you with compensation. Sometimes, wind or hurricane damage requires you to purchase a special endorsement, especially if you have outdoor signs, large glass windows, or property that is stored outdoors. Talk to your agent to learn more.

Flood-Damaged Property

It is rare for a business insurance policy to include coverage against rising waters. Fortunately, the NFIP does offer commercial flood insurance policies. While the coverage limits on this insurance may be limited (contents coverage is capped at $500,000), this insurance can be beneficial to have year-round, not just during hurricane season.

Policies take 30 days to go into effect, so don't wait until a storm is imminent to buy your coverage.

Loss of Income Due to Closure

Hurricane damage can be wide-ranging. Whether or not your business sustains serious damage, it may be forced to close for an extended period. This is particularly true if the hurricane causes long power outages and damages roadways in your area.

If your business faces a temporary closure due to a covered event, business interruption insurance can provide the income needed to keep paying bills and expenses until you can resume your normal business operations.

Talk to an independent agent who specializes in business insurance coverage to learn more.

Why Work with an Independent Agent in Mount Pleasant?

Independent agents work for you, not for a specific insurance company. These insurance professionals live and work in your community so they understand how hurricanes can cause damage in Mount Pleasant. Let one of these agents help you review all of your current policies to help you be sure that you don't have any coverage gaps and that you are paying a reasonable price for your coverage.

Set up a one-on-one consultation with an insurance agent near you to get started.

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