As the one-year anniversary of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey approaches, now is a good time to be storm ready and to take a look at lessons learned.

The timing of Harvey was just right, so to speak, for Mark Hanna with the Insurance Council of Texas. As the storm approached the cost Hanna was in Corpus Christi and he and thousands of others were forced to evacuate the coast. He traveled to Austin where he did over 100 interviews for newspapers, TV news and radio across the country and some around the world.

On Monday, he and other experts traveled the Texas coast visiting with media outlets to educate residents on how to prepare for the next hurricane.

Manuel Villarreal with the Texas Department of Insurance wanted to remind homeowners that some insurance policies have a one-year deadline to file claims.

“There are only four days left to file a claim,” Villarreal said on Monday, as the clock ticked away. “Claims must be filed within 365 days of the event. We are trying to reach out to communities. The only leeway in the deadline is if the policyholder can show good cause for the delay.

To file a Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, or TWIA, claim go to www.twia.org or call 1-800-788-8247.

Damages

Hanna explained there was $19.5 billion in insured losses with uninsured losses more than $100 billion.

Upon making landfall Aug. 25, Harvey’s winds caused more than $5 billion in insured windstorm losses in the Port Aransas and Rockport area. Then Harvey stalled over the Houston and Beaumont areas causing massive flood damage with record rainfall, including 60 inches in Nederland, and flooding large portions of southeast Texas, including Houston and Harris County, according to ICT.

Hanna said there was an uptick in people buying flood insurance after Harvey but by then it was too late for that particular storm. June 1, the beginning of hurricane season, there was another uptick in people buying flood insurance.

And while Harvey is considered a one in 1,000 year storm, there have been several one in 100 year storms that have hit Southeast Texas — thus stressing the need for insurance.

“Our message has always encouraged coastal residents to have an evacuation plan, and after seeing the devastation caused by Hurricanes Ike in 2008 and Harvey, we will again remind homeowners to review their coverage’s and coverage amounts and strongly urge they consider flood insurance,” Hanna said.

“Many Americans are at risk of flooding in a hurricane even if they are not located in a flood zone. Recent storms have shown the need for flood insurance in areas outside flood zones.”