NORFOLK, Va. — Storm season is right around the corner and it’s important to prepare now.
While you hope your property isn’t at risk, it’s never a guarantee that you are out of a storm’s path—especially in Hampton Roads and Northeast North Carolina where severe storms and hurricanes are commonplace.
In hopes of helping people be more prepared, I’m looking into who is responsible when a storm damages property, what is in an insurance policy, and the preventative measures homeowners can take now.
Jon Sham, our Director of Digital Media at News 3, knows all too well how quickly the impacts of a storm can spiral out of control.
"I was at work at News 3. I'm pretty sure it was a Monday afternoon, and we knew that there was going to be some severe weather," he says.
Not long after watching the weather turn from calm to severe, he says he got a call from his wife.
"[She] got a call from our next-door neighbor [saying] ‘Hey, hate to tell you this, but our tree, which is about a 60 or 70-foot tall tree, has fallen from our property onto your garage and completely destroyed your garage,'" Sham says.
WATCH: Drone footage shows garage, fence destroyed by storm
He says the damage was shocking: it destroyed his fence, garage and fire pit. Not to mention, it also destroyed the fence running along each neighbor’s property line.
He knew fixing the damage would cost more than the insurance company would provide.
"[Our policy] covered what we thought would be a rebuild of the garage, but what we didn't take into account is that we also had to pay out of our insurance money for the removal of the tree, for the removal of all the garage debris, and for the rebuild of the fence before we could even start talking about rebuilding our garage."
Extensive damage caused by a tree that wasn't even his—a healthy tree, nonetheless.
I was curious about the rules when property is damaged from a storm, so I talked to Katha Treanor with Virginia’s State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance.
"It depends, in large part, on the health of the tree," she says.
Treanor says if your neighbor's tree is healthy and damages your property, like in Sham's case, you and your insurance company are responsible. However, if the tree was dead and needed to come down before a storm, your insurer can go after your neighbors to recover the loss.
Treanor suggests talking to your neighbors about trees near your property line before a storm happens.
"If you see a dead or dying tree or a lot of dead limbs on your property or on your neighbor's property, talk to your neighbor about it," she says. That may also provide you some financial protection in the event there is damage caused.
WATCH: Time lapse of tree removal after storm causes damage in Norfolk
Insurance agents I've spoken with say, generally speaking, policies cover fire, vandalism, smoke, wind and hail. Each one is different, however, so you need to ask your agent or read through it yourself.
In addition to checking your homeowner's policy, look at your auto policy.
"Comprehensive coverage [typically] will pay for damage from things like wind, hail, glass breakage, vandalism [and] striking an object," Treanor says.
Again, don’t assume you have that auto coverage. It’s best to talk to your agent about what’s in your policy. And while you are making calls to an agent, talk to your mortgage lender.
As Sham and his wife learned, because their mortgage lender had invested interest in the property, they had an obligation to rebuild in a way that maintained the home's value.
"In the contract is some fine print that says, ‘Hey, by the way, if something happens to your property, you have to take care of it and return the property to the state it was in or better,'" he says.
Sham tells me after they received their check from Progressive, the mortgage lender held the money until they approved a plan to rebuild the garage. He says it took them months of negotiations and thousands of dollars out of pocket just to rebuild.
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Hindsight is 20/20, but he says he wants to share his story so others know can be better prepared should this happen to their home.
"While you can't predict when a tree branch or a tree is going to fall on something, you can be at least aware of how you're going to deal with that in the event that something like that does happen," he says.
During our conversation, he added this cautionary advice: "Somebody watching this story is going to have something happen to their home in the next few months because of the busy storm season. Know what's in your insurance policy. Know what's in your mortgage contract, find out what you're responsible for."
While you are reviewing your insurance policy, it may also be a good time to consider getting flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer. Keep in mind that some policies have a 30-day waiting period before they go into effect.
Hurricane season begins June 1 and continues through November 30.
When it comes to preparing for a storm FEMA says:
- Safeguard critical documents
- Review your insurance
- Protect your property
- Plan to evacuate
- Consider your personal risk
- Consider overlapping hazards
- Gather supplies
- Be ready to shelter in place
- Learn and practice skills
- Sign up for alerts and warnings
- Create a communication plan
For an exhaustive list of preventative measures from FEMA, click here.
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