Emergency Preparedness: How advisors can prepare clients for hurricanes

By Cesar Lopez

A desire for peace of mind is often what leads clients to seek a financial advisor. Inclement weather often presents a challenge to this peace, bringing potential harm to personal and financial wellbeing.

Hurricanes are a reality of living along the Florida coast, but some clients are unaware of the impact severe weather has on their financial assets when first investing in the area. One way that my team and I establish a sense of security for clients is through property and casualty (P&C) insurance advice.

To alleviate fear of what could happen, we guide clients through the details of property protection policies and outline our approach to post-disaster support. Helping your customers feel prepared for extreme weather can ultimately help you build a positive reputation amongst potential clients and demonstrate your value as a trusted advisor.

The first step to ensuring a financial plan is effective during a disaster is to include policies specific to a client’s needs. For those subject to severe weather, this often includes P&C insurance that covers a wide range of weather events. This coverage could include flood insurance, earthquake insurance and more.

For example, if a hurricane damaged someone’s property, P&C insurance will help cover the costs of repairs and replacing lost valuables. I recommend that my clients work directly with a P&C specialist to develop coverage for their assets.

Before meeting with the specialist, my team guides the client through all the information needed and questions to prepare for, especially around asset valuation. This step ensures that the client provides detailed information to appropriately account for how much coverage they need. Helping a client understand the policy is an important step in the planning process.

While my business is based in the Miami area, I work with many international clients who own property here. These clients will often rely on my team’s expertise to navigate challenges that storms bring. The client may not even be in the area themselves, whereas my team knows the ins and outs of identifying when the storm will make landfall to even shopping for essentials.

We use this experience to proactively inform international clients of the storm’s path and the potential outcomes. Thanks to our detailed plan, news of a storm rarely worries clients, as they know what steps to take in case their assets are damaged.

Once a storm has died down and damage is being assessed, my team and I continue to act. We update clients on the situation and remind them of the process to submit P&C insurance claims. While these tasks may not fall under an advisor’s typical responsibilities, the clients are extremely grateful to have a familiar face walk them through the claims process or even just know that their property is safe and sound.

My team prioritizes being accessible to clients during these times, while P&C insurance teams are likely swamped. Our assessments and guidance help reduce stress for all involved and reiterate the importance of this type of insurance in a client’s financial plan.

No matter your clients’ backgrounds, they seek a guiding voice that sees them as more than just a number. In my case, this often comes into play as I educate my international clients on the workings of American insurance and how they can protect their assets – as many of them aren’t accustomed to this process.

I highly suggest fellow advisors connect with a P&C insurance broker to better understand the inner workings of their policies. This allows you to explain P&C coverage in simple terms, as well as answer any questions clients have. While we don’t see profits from this specific insurance policy, we feel confident in helping clients protect their assets and spreading the word about the good work we do.

Providing this education has allowed me to grow my business organically, as showing up authentically for clients during crisis situations has inspired them to share my work with their networks. Help your clients understand how P&C insurance protects their assets and they will turn to you as a trusted guide for all their financial questions.

About the Author:
Cesar Lopez is a third-generation financial advisor born in Caracas, Venezuela, and raised in Coral Gables, Florida. From a young age his objective was clear: to provide financial security to clients around the globe. Lopez started his practice by serving US-based clients. Due to his Latin roots and living in Miami, he realized how transient of a city it was and how many clients based in foreign countries were being underserved. Lopez has been an MDRT member for nine years, achieving Top of the Table status during his membership.