If you have a swimming pool, drain it at least halfway in case heavy rains cause flooding. Receipts, photos or videos of major possessions can help document what you own if you have to file a claim. Store your inventory and insurance policies in a safe deposit box or other protected location away from your home. If you still have your policies at home, take them with you when you evacuate. Once a storm is in the Gulf, it's usually too late to buy or increase insurance coverage on your home.
Most insurers refuse to issue policies or increase coverage once a threat is clear.
This ban takes effect when a storm moves west of 80 degrees west longitude and north of 20 degrees north latitude, which converge at a point south of central Cuba and northwest of Jamaica.