As June 1 approached each year, our Community Association Managers automatically enter a “heightened state of awareness” in anticipation of Hurricane Season. Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30 and your Association should be prepared far before the season. Below are five tips to help your Association prepare for hurricane season:
1. Have a Plan-
Having a hurricane plan will not prevent a storm from impacting your Association, but it will assist with preparing and recovering from a hurricane. A good plan will help ready your association before a hurricane hits and outline the steps to recover in the event one does indeed impact your community. It will spell out the steps homeowners, board members, and management should take during and after a storm has occurred within the community. This plan should be review on a regular basis and modified as needed.
2. Document and inspect-
Take a regular inventory of your Association assets with date-stamped photos of common areas and items the Association is responsible for maintaining and insuring. Additionally, areas such as roofs, docks, siding, etc. should be inspected regularly to insure they are in tip top shape.
3. Review your insurance policies-
Sit down with your Associations insurance agent at a minimum on a yearly basis to assure there are no lapses in coverage for your association. Additionally, policy limits should be reviewed regularly to ensure that there is enough coverage to build back the buildings in the event of a catastrophic event.
4. Have your contactors ready-
Although this would be part of the larger hurricane plan, its important to review and vet contractors on a regular basis. The association (depending on type of association) should have selected a set of contractors that include restoration companies, general contractors, landscapers, etc. Having contractors in place prior to a storm hit will allow the Association to have a much smoother and timely cleanup and repair experience.
5. Communication-
Boards should regularly communicate with the membership how they are preparing the Association for hurricane season. This will assist the membership in knowing their “role” if a hurricane strikes and what they can do to assist in preparing their community.
Implementing the above tips are just some of the things that you can do to help mitigate the risks that come with living in a hurricane prone environment. To learn more about what your Association can do to assist with implementing hurricane preparedness policies, do not hesitate to reach out to a Priestley Management Company at info@priestleymanagement.com. Finally, below is a link from the NOAA on additional tips to help prepare for hurricane season:
