Protect your classic before a hurricane hits

Any time there is severe weather on the way, you need to take all the precautions you can as soon as possible. After all the necessary steps have been taken to protect your loved ones and your home, you may also consider taking some additional steps to safeguard your prized vehicles. The best way to protect your family, of course, is to keep them out of harm’s way, and the same goes for your collector car. Some tips:

• Make an evacuation plan to move your vehicles to a safer location. Plan two routes to get there (in case one is blocked), and give yourself time to reach the destination so you aren’t caught in the storm. Also consider choosing a backup person to drive your car to safety if you’re unable to do it yourself. With that in mind, keep the address of the safe location in the glovebox to avoid confusion. [Hagerty customers in certain states automatically receive Evacuation Expense Coverage, which reimburses 50% of the cost to relocate and/or store vehicles elsewhere for covered emergency conditions. Private Client Services (PCS) Expert Collector policies also include this coverage. Evacuation Expense is optional in less at-risk states.]
• Be diligent in monitoring weather reports. This is vital to evacuating on time.
• If you choose to leave your car in the garage, consider the worst-case scenario. Park facing out, disconnect the battery, cover your car if you don’t already do so, and move anything that could fall onto it from a shelf or off the wall.
• Anchor heavy objects such as fuel tanks, compressors, generators, or tool boxes—anything that might float and hit your car if the garage should flood.
• The garage door is the largest and weakest entry point to the home, so in additional to fortifying windows and doors of your house, reinforce your garage door by installing temporary braces with wooden two-by-fours. This will not only protect your vehicle, but your entire home.
• Locate all important documents and place them in a waterproof container. If you leave your home, take the documents with you.
• If, in spite of the preparation, your car sustains damage—particularly flood damage—there are steps you can take to minimize the severity of that damage. [If you are a Hagerty client and need to file a claim, call 800-385-0274.]