Preparing Your Home for Storm Season

You know that you need to be prepared for a storm, but are you prepared for more than just a potential power outage and daily essentials? Is your home protected financially and physically? NOAA’s outlook for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which extends from June 1 to November 30, predicts a 65% chance of an above-normal season, a 25% chance of a near-normal season and a 10% chance of a below-normal season.*

Alpha Omega has some tips on how to help you prepare for a hurricane or a torrential storm with these money and home-saving tips.

Are you protected financially?

As a professional roofer, Alpha Omega also works with your home insurance provider to help you get the most out of your current coverage. We recommend that in addition to hiring a professional roofer to inspect your home, to also make sure that your coverage meets all of your needs in preparation as well. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before beginning the conversation with your home insurance provider, to not only make sure you get the coverage that you feel secure with but also to help you understand your home insurance policy:

1. Do you have flood insurance?
2. Do you have wind and hail coverage?
3. What’s your deductible?
4. Who do you call if your home is hit by a severe storm?
5. Ask for a wind mitigation form that a professional roofer can fill out for you. It pertains to how your home is built and if it’s prepared for a storm.
6. Be sure to have a copy of your current home insurance policy printed out and handy, ready for any situation.

Are you protected physically?

Does your roof need a tune-up? Just like your car, the exterior of your home needs regular checks and maintenance in order to uphold its structural integrity. Hiring a professional roofer, such as Alpha Omega, can help you to make sure that your home is properly prepared for a severe storm or hurricane. Here are just a few smart, precautionary items to make sure that your professional roofer checks during their inspection:

1. Is your roof’s plywood attached per code?
2. Were the proper nails used to meet storm code?
3. Are your shingles wind-rated?
4. Do you need hurricane straps to be installed where the walls meet the roof in your attic?
5. Do you need extra gable braces to prevent walls from being pulled out due to wind?

Should it come to it, replacing your roof and retrofitting your home may actually lead to potential insurance savings, not only protecting your home but your wallet as well.

*Jasmine Blackwell “.NOAA predicts above-normal 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season” NOAA.gov, https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-predicts-above-normal-2022-atlantic-hurricane-season. Accessed 14 June 2022.