Sometimes, calculating the value of a Florida property damage claim is pretty complicated. Someone did damage to your stuff, and now you have to spend time figuring out how valuable that was and have arguments ready to defend your price.
But negligent or reckless people aren’t the only way for your property to be damaged: severe weather also causes damage, notes Adaptive Realty Management Corp. Below, you’ll find some of the most common damaging conditions described alongside how you can best protect your property in those conditions. It will hopefully save you a few headaches in the future.
Hail
It kinda makes sense that giant chunks of ice falling from the sky would be damaging to anything it hit. While you should protect your stuff no matter how big or small the hail may be, it’s important for you to know how dangerous each size is.
Small hail that is about the same size or smaller than a marble is pretty okay. You won’t want to be out in it, but there shouldn’t be too much damage. However, quarter or golf ball-sized hail is both dangerous and incredibly destructive. Needless to say, anything larger than that is when you should prepare for extreme damage.
Protecting your property from hail is pretty simple. First, make sure no one, human or animal, is outside in the weather. Then, move all loose yard items, furniture and such inside somewhere. Then, make sure your vehicle is under a roof. Failing any of these steps could lead to serious injury or item damage.
The vehicle could even have its roof dented or windshield shattered if you’re not prepared. If a roof is unavailable for whatever reason, invest in a high-quality hail cover instead. This padded sheet will protect your car from most hail, though how effective it is at handling tennis ball sized hailstones is up for debate.
Snow and Ice
There’s a lot you need to do to protect your property from snow and ice damage, and it starts before the first snowflake falls: check your roof. You need to ensure your roof is in tip-top shape before heavy snow and thick ice have a chance to form, so inspect it thoroughly and contact your local roofing company should you spot an issue.
You should also clean your gutters because heavy snowfall will rest on the roof and eventually melt, which will rush toward the gutters. It may then freeze when the sun disappears or it grows too cold again. If your gutters are full of leaves beforehand, then damaging icicles will form on the edges of the gutters as the leaves freeze and water has nowhere else to go. This will drag them down, doing damage over time. This obviously can still happen even with clean gutters, but it’s a bit less likely.
Both snow and ice are heavy and hard on trees, so you should also inspect all of the trees that are close to your home. If a branch looks dead, loose or unsafe in some way, you can either remove it yourself or contact a professional to do it for you. Then, head inside and make sure each room of the house can hit a comfortable temperature. If not then look into inspecting your furnace or find another way to keep the room warm.
And, of course, make sure no pipes are exposed to freezing temperatures. If they might be, remedy that. The last thing you need to deal with during a blizzard or ice storm is burst pipes.
Strong Winds
It’s really easy to underestimate strong winds, but they need to be taken as seriously as hail. Before they hit, bring any small or loose items indoors, especially if they hang, swing or catch wind.
Items that can’t be brought inside need to be secured. Strap these items to sturdy things like columns so they stay in your yard and don’t become a hazard to someone else. Ground anchors can be purchased if you have no sturdy items to secure things to. This can all be undone once the weather clears.
If you get strong winds often then there are few things you can do besides keep your straps and anchors on hand. For example, you could have a professional check out your garage door and reinforce it to handle those winds. Professional lumberjacks could look at any trees in your yard and either remove dangerous branches or cut the whole thing down if it’s deemed a threat.
You can even install storm shutters to protect your windows during these weather events. Even if you don’t have these, keep all blinds and curtains closed during high winds; you never know what might happen.