Hurricane Shutters: A Wise Buy

Florida has a front row seat for hurricanes, and it is no surprise that Florida homeowners are experienced at hurricane protection. Some storm protection features are built into the design of buildings themselves. For instance, Florida roofs are generally designed to deal with uplift; Minnesota roofs are not. But there are a range of additional safety products now on the market.

The most important of these products are hurricane panels on windows. Hurricane shutters protect your windows (which are not cheap themselves) from flying debris and extreme pressure shifts. More to the point, they are protecting everything behind it—including you—from flying shards of glass and intense water damage.

Hurricane shutters are not always that cheap, but they are excellent value, for three reasons. First and most obviously, they are protecting your other possessions, and the house itself, from storm damage. Secondly, if your Plan B was to slap on plywood every time a storm comes, the shutters are saving you a considerable amount of money there, too. But most importantly (and least obviously) Florida homeowners’ insurance policies generally give you a bonus for having hurricane shutters, so they pay for themselves even if the big storm never comes.