Can Texas Escape Another Hurricane Season?
Today marks the start of another hurricane season and many Texans are wondering if we can go one more year without a destructive storm.
The last hurricane to strike Texas proved to be the costliest. Hurricane Ike struck Galveston on Sept. 13, 2008, claiming 20 lives along the coast and causing $12 billion in insured losses.
Despite hurricane forecasts only one other hurricane has struck the U.S. mainland since Ike. Last year, Hurricane Irene traveled up the eastern seaboard causing damage from high winds and heavy rains. Two tropical storms have already formed in the Atlantic this year.
As a reminder, Texas homeowners living along the coast should have an evacuation plan in effect. That plan should be in place regardless of whether residents plan to ride the storm out or seek shelter inland.
To be fully insured for a hurricane, residents should have three insurance policies in place. A basic homeowner policy will protect residents against fire, theft, burglary and liability. A windstorm policy will provide coverage from damaging winds and flying debris. And a separate flood insurance policy will provide coverage from rising waters.
Windstorm policies are not sold when a named storm is in the Gulf of Mexico. It takes 30 days for a flood insurance policy to take effect.
The hurricane season runs through November 30.
Source: The Insurance Council of Texas
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