Texas Coastal Hurricane and Insurance Education Tour to Begin Aug. 18

The insurance industry wants Texas coastal residents to know about hurricane preparedness and insurance coverage for future hurricanes.

The information is offered by a contingent of catastrophic weather experts recruited by the Insurance Council of Texas. This group will be making their ninth annual tour down the entire Texas coastline August 18 – 22.

The group will include warning coordination meteorologists from the four National Weather Service offices that monitor the Texas coast; Manuel Villarreal; Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) ombudsman for the Texas Department of Insurance; Yadi Gonzalez, a media specialist from Allstate; and Mark Hanna, spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas.

“Our message will always revolve around preparing for a hurricane, because one never knows when or where a hurricane will make landfall,” said Hanna. “But looking back at past hurricanes, having full insurance coverage and an evacuation plan is the best preparation one can have.”

The group will start in Beaumont and Port Arthur and work their way down to Brownsville reaching an estimated 3 million Texas coastal residents over a five-day, 1,000 mile, 49-media stop tour.

The industry message will also be conveyed over paid radio spots and newspaper ads in every coastal market.

In 2008, Hurricane Ike was the last hurricane to strike the Texas coast, but it was also the costliest storm to ever hit the state with $12 billion in insured losses

Although hurricane season began June 1, the height of the hurricane season in Texas is actually late August and September.

Source: The Insurance Council of Texas