Storms can delay closings
Warning: Hurricanes can disrupt closings. Once a storm enters “the box” – which varies geographically by company – insurers stop writing policies. As a result, lenders that require property insurance won’t complete a home sale until coverage again becomes active.
MIAMI – Aug. 26, 2015 – It weakened before threatening Florida, but Hurricane Danny’s surprise emergence as a Category 3 storm gave homeowners and insurers a reminder a hurricane-free decade is no guarantee of future performance.
State-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp., representing nearly 600,000 Florida customers, issued reminders by Twitter to check with agents to make sure policies are up to date – and keep important documents and emergency contacts in a waterproof place.
Last week as the storm threatened, Citizens spokesman Michael Peltier said, “We are watching Hurricane Danny closely and will continue to track its progress throughout the weekend. We have made initial contact with our partners as part of an established response plan and will continue to respond accordingly based on Danny’s movement over the next several days.”
The Florida Property & Casualty Association, representing many state-based insurers, said (last week) members were ready if Hurricane Danny continued to pose a threat.
“We encourage Floridians to join us in monitoring the news and weather reports to stay informed,” said William Stander, FPCA’s executive director.
Factors including the global weather pattern known as El Nino, lots of Saharan dust and storm-sapping wind shear helped keep Danny from getting stronger. Then again, not many people expected it to become a Category 3 storm with sustained winds up to 115 mph before that.
Copyright © 2015 The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.), Charles Elmore. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.