Dear Clients and Friends,
With the remnants of Hurricane Florence causing destruction on the Eastern seaboard, we commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma. Hurricane Irma caused damage that is still being addressed.
What lessons did your community learn? Were you prepared before the storm with adequate hurricane protection on your property and emergency procedures and requirements already in place? Was your response after the storm as efficient as it should have been? Were you struggling to retain needed consultants and contractors? Were you already familiar with the requirements of your governing documents and the applicable statute?
Now is the time to evaluate your state of readiness. In the wake of Hurricane Irma, Becker, with the assistance of the firm’s Community Association Leadership Lobby (CALL), took a survey of impacted associations to gauge their own assessment of their preparations and responses.
As this hurricane season shifts into high-gear, we take this opportunity to republish highlights from the survey in hopes of assisting any association still in the process of implementing the lessons learned from Hurricane Irma.
More than a majority of respondents suffered damages due to Irma but very few had adequate financial resources lined up to address those damages. The lack of adequate reserves or a standby line of credit contribute to this dilemma. Even more troubling, the vast majority of respondents had not enlisted and were not planning to enlist the help of professionals to assist them with compiling their insurance claim. It is enormously difficult to fully recover from your insurance carrier for a casualty loss, especially a casualty as significant as a hurricane, without professional assistance.
For helpful articles and tips on hurricane preparedness and recovery, please feel free to download a complimentary copy of our hurricane guide here. As always, I and my colleagues are ready and available to help should you need advice or assistance.
Very truly yours,
Kenneth S. Direktor
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