Tropical Storm DELTA's track attached below. Doesn't look like a big one but everyone needs to be informed. We expect binding restrictions for all new business to be implemented by as early as today.
Donna Langlinais, owner of Beacon Insurance Services, was proud to work and volunteer at the Gulfport Branch 1374 NALC this past Saturday supporting the effort to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Another system in the SW quadrant of the Gulf of Mexico has a 90% chance of forming in the next 48 hours. Stay alert residents of the MS Gulf Coast!!!
While the effects of Sally are still being encountered in Jackson County and the outage of power in that location, our office in Gautier is still closed for the day. Most employees are back in the Biloxi office if you need any assistance regarding claims to your property.
Praying for everyone in FL, AL and GA today.
Looks like Hurricane Sally played a slow down game on all of us. We will not be in the office first thing on Wednesday, September 16 but will be playing it by ear tomorrow on our return. Stay tuned for future updates.
Residents of the MS Gulf Coast: Please take the necessary precautions over the next 4-6 hours. Our offices in both Biloxi and Gautier will be physically closed starting at noon today and remain closed until 8:00 am Wednesday, September 16. The agents will be working remotely from home the rest of today but will not be available for claims or advice all day Tuesday, September 15. Stay safe!!
Cruising the Coast on Wednesday visits our Jackson County office in Gautier. Our lovely agent, Michelle, had her parents stop by before heading to the events in Biloxi today in their 1981 Chevrolet Malibu Landau. Her and our service rep, Brady were able to take and share some photos.
Stay safe cruisers!!
Cruising the Coast 2020 took a turn into the agency today with our very own agent, Jessica Lewis. Her and her husband owns this beautiful 1989 Chevrolet K5. Jessica enjoys her annual week off during this time every year. She and the Ladies of Beacon were proud to take a group photo of her visit.
Stay safe to all of the cruisers out there and enjoy the nostalgia for the entire week!
As a friendly reminder, the Gautier Mullet Festival is this weekend and we are proudly donating a gift basked in support of the "Paws and Claws Howl-O-Ween Pet and Costume Parade".
If you can make it, come on out and watch some incredible presentations from all of my friends in the canine and feline species. We never disappoint.
Thanks,
Hank
Driver's safety tip of the day:
When there is a mass or extreme power outage following a storm and there is NO power to intersections that are normally controlled by traffic lights, the WHITE painted line perpendicular to the lane in which you're traveling becomes the dictating ordinance hence making that intersection either a 3 or 4-way STOP.
Inversely, when power is fully restored (RED, YELLOW, GREEN all work) and is operating normally, the normal rules of the road apply and the lights govern what your actions should be.
There seems to be some confusion on the Gulf Coast right now as to what a FLASHING YELLOW light means. FLASHING YELLOW means use caution when passing through the intersection because typically the perpendicular road is a FLASHING RED (which means THEY stop and wait to merge into traffic once the lanes are clear to do so). A FLASHING YELLOW light does NOT mean to stop, again, it means to PROCEED with caution.
These basic rules of the road could prevent traffic accidents. Please share this with our community.
As we enter day 2 of damage assessment and screening hundreds of calls and emails regarding claims, it is important for every property owner to realize what a wind deductible is regarding the property they're wanting to make a claim on.
For example, if you own a $200,000 home, that is insured at that value, and your policy is written with a 2% named storm (or even just wind) deductible, that means that $4,000 is your deductible for any wind damage that you incurred during Hurricane Zeta.
Where most insureds make a mistake is that they immediately file a claim without getting an assessment of the damages. In a lot of cases, MS Gulf Coast residents only took on about $1,000-$2,000 worth of damages. In this case filing a claim would NOT be wise due to the fact that the company won't pay out (because assessed value of repair is less than the deductible) AND this claim goes against you in future property quotes.
We would encourage every property owner to get a quote of estimated repairs and compare it to their wind deductibles before filing a claim. This will save you and your agents an incredible amount of time and eventually save you insurance premium increases because of filed claims that you didn't even get paid on.
We hope and pray that everyone on the MS Gulf Coast survived ZETA last night. I have driven the coast this morning and have seen the damage. As I am still waiting on all of our staff to report in safely this morning and update us with an assessment of their personal posture, I will share with you all that our offices will be closed today for every agent's personal situations. I can tell you all that our Biloxi location is in tact. The Gautier office is still yet to be assessed.
If you have property insurance brokered through our agency you were emailed this morning with instructions on how to start your claims process if need be. The emails goes out in batch, so it may take a couple of hours to get to you.
For customers without email that need to file a claim, please reference your policy for the claims toll free number, use the carrier's applicable website if available, or call 228-374-0067 and follow the instructions on the voicemail.
Please remember to photograph any and all property damages before cleanup. Afterwards, please take any and all mitigations to make your property safe.
We pray for all of our neighbors on the Gulf Coast this morning. We will get through this together!
We will be closed from Wednesday, November 25 at NOON until Monday, November 30 at 8 am for Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Beacon Insurance Services!!
We are honored to be a finalist in Gulf Coast Woman Magazine's "Best Small Business 2020". Thank you to all of our loyal customers and business partners for this humbling nomination!!
Our offices will be closed from Wednesday, December 23 at noon until Monday, December 28 at 8:00 am. Merry Christmas from Beacon Insurance Services!
Our offices will be closed Wednesday, December 30 at noon until Monday, January 4, 2021 in celebration of the NEW YEAR. May 2021 be the year of prosperity and good fortune for all of our loyal followers!!