North Carolina is forewarned: Hurricane season looks bad. North Carolina home insurance policyholders take note: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting an unusually active hurricane season in 2012. In practical terms, this means homeowners should batten down the hatches, including making sure their home insurance coverage is up to date.
These are the threatening numbers from the federal agency: 12-17 named storms, 4-8 storms developing into hurricanes, and 2-3 becoming major hurricanes. The 30-year average for named storms is 12, according to the agency. The oceanic experts blame a late-arriving El Nino wind, with storms being more severe in its absence.
Meteorologists say North Carolina has about a 40 percent chance of feeling the brunt of a storm, a 27 percent chance of the storm being a hurricane. So while the odds aren’t overwhelmingly against North Carolina home insurance policyholders, the chances are still good that wind and rain is on the way before the hurricane season ends in November.
Wise home insurance policyholders will respond to the storm prediction by, first of all, checking to make sure coverage in their North Carolina home insurance policies is adequate. They will get extra flood insurance if they determine they live anywhere within a flood plain. They will trim trees and shrubs to reduce wind havoc, install permanent shutters on windows or lay in a supply of plywood. Home insurance is backed up by good property preparation.
North Carolina property owners who worry about hurricanes don’t just live on the coast and the Outer Banks of the state. While a coastal property faces the most peril for a home insurance policyholder, inland North Carolina homeowners are not exempt. The state capital of Raleigh and financial center Charlotte were beaten severely by Hurricane Hazel though they are located far from the ocean. Mudslides in the mountains of western North Carolina were caused by Hurricane Ivan.
The most devastating hurricane to hit the state—Hurricane Floyd—was notable not for its winds, but for its water. A smaller hurricane had preceded it by a few days and Floyd’s water had no place to go except onto streets and into homes. The flooding that followed wasn’t a rise of coastal water, but rather an inundation of plain old rainwater. Flood insurance is a vital consideration for a North Carolina home insurance policyholder.