Hurricane Season is Around the Corner: Here’s What Insurance Agents Need to Relay to Commercial Clients

With the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season less than two weeks away, it's crucial for insurance agents to review the flood risk for their commercial clients once again. Taking proactive measures now can help mitigate the potential for catastrophic damage.

And here’s why: the National Weather Service is currently predicting a season of storms that will be well above average in terms of both frequency and ferocity:

• 23 named storms
• 11 hurricanes
• 5 reaching major hurricane status (Category 3, 4, or 5)

In today’s climate of rising wages and high inflation, the cost to rebuild from even a single major storm could surpass anything seen in recent years. While storms like Andrew and Katrina are etched in the public's memory, recent hurricanes such as Harvey, Maria, and Ian have caused unprecedented damage, underscoring the increasing frequency and severity of these events.

• Maria (2017): $92 billion damage
• Harvey (2017): $125 billion damage
• Ian (2022): $113 billion in damage

Earlier this month, more than 12 inches of rain fell on parts of the Houston Metro Area in less than 12 hours, and it wasn’t even a hurricane.

Therefore, with the 2024 hurricane season nearly upon us, here are four things that insurance agents need to relay to commercial clients:

1. The Waiting Period: Flood policies come with a 30-day waiting period before taking effect. That means that when a major storm has your customer’s front door in the crosshairs, it’s already too late. The time to secure adequate coverage is now—weeks before the first storm.
2. NFIP Coverage is Minimal: Let’s talk about what “adequate” coverage even is. Currently, the NFIP only provides coverage up to $500,000 for commercial property owners, but most commercial properties–with high insurable values–would likely face damages far exceeding this limit.
3. Business Interruption Often Causes the Most Damage: When a major storm hits a particular region, the surge in claims stretches both adjusters and construction crews thin. In other words, the ability to rebuild and resume operations may be significantly delayed, making business interruption insurance critical.
4. But… the NFIP Doesn’t Offer Business Interruption Coverage.  And that’s where the private market comes in. Agents and their insureds can tap into a private flood insurance market for coverage that the NFIP doesn’t offer, such as: 
   1. Excess limits
   2. Improvements and Betterments
   3. And, of course… Business Interruption
      

In a world of high risk, insurance agents gain a competitive advantage by partnering with AFR Insurance Services for flood insurance solutions.

At AFR Insurance Services, we’ve been in the flood business for over 30 years, underwriting more than 15,000 policies, including complex risks such as multi-structure portfolios across different states, all on a single policy. We know the ins and outs of commercial flood insurance. More importantly, we work with a wide network of underwriters to get agents and their insureds the coverage they need to be protected from increasingly costly and frequent floods.

Let AFR Insurance Services quote your next commercial property for flood insurance. Discover how we can offer superior coverage for your clients at competitive prices.

Just click the button below, and if you don’t have a commercial property that needs a quote immediately, bookmark the link and come back when you do.

Remember, flood insurance policies have a 30-day waiting period, so the time for commercial property owners to get adequate coverage is now.

We are AFR Insurance Services.