Proactively setting up insurance plans and moving collectibles to storage facilities are vital to protecting valuables from storm damage. In the days leading up to Hurricane Helene’s landfall across the southeastern U.S., Destiny Family Office CEO Tom Ruggie moved his multimillion-dollar sports memorabilia collection into a fireproof room inside his office building.
“I took my irreplaceable items off the wall and put them in my fireproof room that also has a full standup safe in it, and a secondary lock,” he said. “I put those items up high so flooding and fire wasn’t an issue; because a fireproof room is a very strong, sturdy room, so I wasn’t worried about a tree falling and doing any damage.”
Although not as severe as on the coasts, widespread flooding and high winds from Hurricanes Helene and Milton damaged central Florida, where Ruggie’s multi-family office is based outside Orlando. The fireproof room in his office protected his collectibles from not only the elements but also potential looters. “It’s prime time for people to break into places and either steal or damage," Ruggie said. "There’s a lot of that stuff that goes on.”
About two months ago, Ruggie updated his insurance coverage to a new blanket policy with Stadium Insurance, which specialized in sports memorabilia. Ruggie’s plan with Stadium included a roughly $5,000 deductible, and he opted to insure about 80% of his collection.
“The peace of mind of being properly insured certainly made me feel a hell of lot better than if I was not properly insured," he said. "Of course, as the hurricane is coming, I would not have the option to do that at that point.
"The reason I wasn’t worried about [covering] 100% of the assets is because I have my collection split location-wise. So for me to have a 100% loss, I would have to have a 100% loss in two separate areas or buildings.”
Across Florida, boats have been found washed ashore — including an 85-foot Marlow yacht in Sarasota, caused by Hurricane Milton.
“You can’t insure a yacht or a boat today down in Florida unless there's an evacuation plan that says, in the event that a storm comes up, can you tell us how your boat is gonna be removed from that dock,” said Robb Lanham, the chief sales officer of Hub Private Client at insurance brokerage Hub International.
“These things have to happen not the day before but weeks and months before,” Lanham said. “Homes that have trees around them are 70% more likely to have a homeowner's claim, because the wind hits the tree, knocks onto the house. So preemptively what we say is — and this could be in March — let's take a look at your property. Hurricane season is coming, and when it comes, it will bring wind and water.”