Hurricane Harvey Personal Lines Customer Memo

Hurricane Harvey’s arrival on the Texas coastline is imminent. Here at Cravens Warren, we want to ensure you are fully prepared to handle any issues with your property during this storm.

For personal lines clients, we recommend the following:

• Please do not park on the street if at all possible.
• You may want to lower the level of the water in your pool so that there is available room for heavy amounts of rain. Amounts up to 12" of rain have been predicted for our area. It is not recommended that you drain your pool completely as pools have been known to rise out of the ground when the soil is saturated. But lowering the level by 12 inches or less is generally safe.
• Have batteries and emergency lighting available.
• If you need medical assistance as a result of a power outage, please call 911. Only contact 911 if you have a medical emergency due to the power outage. For regular power outage issues, please contact CenterPoint Energy.
• Secure outdoor furniture and any other items that could become airborne should wind gusts hit the area. Please instruct your lawn care companies not to leave bags of lawn debris out during this storm as we have had previous issues with these bags floating and blocking inlets and ditches.
• Turn off your sprinkler system.
• Keep in mind that typical household items, yard decorations, garbage bags or carts can block drainage systems during heavy rain events. Please bring in and secure items that are outside of your home so those items don't create drainage problems for your neighbors.
• In the event that you see trees or tree limbs down across streets that would impede access by emergency vehicles, please call 911.
• If the streets become submerged, STAY HOME and off the roads as much as possible.

In the event your property is damaged, please follow these guidelines:

• Once the storm has passed, please take all steps necessary to protect your building from further or resulting damage. This may include boarding windows and doors, and roof and salvaging undamaged items and personal property. Keep all receipts if any materials are purchased to temporarily protect the property. Do not begin any permanent repairs until your building has been inspected by a claims adjuster, or until a claims adjuster gives you permission to move forward.
• Take pictures of the damage before moving or repairing anything. Photos should be taken inside and outside of the structure, and emailed to us. Do not destroy or throw away any damaged items unless authorized by a claims adjuster.
• Prepare a list / inventory of all damaged property. The list should give a description of items, cost, make/ model.
• Please contact the insurance company as soon as possible after the storm, to report any property damage, flood, or physical injury sustained.

We know you will be working quickly to prepare for this storm, as it has come up without much warning. Please gather your insurance policy numbers, and take note of your company's claims reporting phone numbers. Those can be found at www.cravenswarren.com/claims.

If you do not know your policy numbers, please contact us prior to the storm, and we will provide you with them.
We will be operating from remote locations for the duration of the storm. Our physical location will be closed on Monday, but we will be available via email and phone. Should you require further assistance from our office, please let us know.

We wish you and your families the best as we all brace for this weather event.
-Cravens Warren Staff