Tower Hill President Don Matz fills us in on what we need to know for the 2017 hurricane season.
This weekend is a good time to stock up on hurricane supplies such as batteries, flashlights, tarps, etc., as the Florida Legislature has designated June 2-4 as a sales tax holiday for hurricane preparedness items. For further details on which items are tax exempt, visit the Florida Department of Revenue.
For details on developing a hurricane survival plan and up-to-the minute storm forecasts throughout hurricane season, visit THIG.com. Within the next few days, we’ll be releasing an updated and improved site with a cleaner, streamlined appearance that is also mobile-friendly. In addition to the traditional features such as making premium payments, printing your policy, and learning more about relevant property insurance issues, you can file a claim online and track its progress 24/7/365.
During Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, more than 10% of our customers with a claim took advantage of this convenience. Online claim submission is not limited to hurricane claims – any claim may be filed in this manner from either your desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Of course, you can always report your claim to Tower Hill by contacting us at 800.342.3407 or by calling your agent.
Pre-season forecasts vary somewhat from a slightly below-average hurricane season to a slightly above-average hurricane season, based on both the number of storms and the number of major (Category 3-5) storms predicted. It seems the determining factor will be the potential development (strength and timing) of “El Niño” conditions — a warming of equatorial ocean temperatures in the Pacific off the coast of Peru. El Niño conditions tend to create strong trade winds from west to east that have the ability to “shear” Atlantic hurricanes in their development stage. Further details and the most recent hurricane season forecast can be found at NOAA.gov.
Remember, regardless of any forecasts, it only takes one hurricane to cause major damage! Tower Hill is prepared and ready for Hurricane Season 2017 – are you? We hope this season is ultimately uneventful, but we are here for you if it isn’t. Good luck to all of us!