I'll never forget Friday August 13, 2004.  The media had  warned all week about the possibility of a hurricane. As Central Florida had not had one in 100 years, I was  skeptical, or as my wife says, "in denial."

All over town,  people began "boarding up" and making provisions. We kept our office fully staffed as patients canceled appointments, and the storm got closer. At about 1:30pm, the sky turned black and the winds picked up dramatically.

My wife Ellen called and said, "Are you crazy? Let the staff go and get home quickly. I've got work for you to do!" We did get lots of rain that afternoon, but by 5 o'clock the weather had cleared.

A few hours later the winds began to howl and the electricity went out. The sky turned a shade I had never seen before. For 30 minutes we heard chilling noises and were quite frightened... but then, the storm was over.

The following day, travel was restricted  and we had no electricity.

As the roads were cleared and  curfews  lifted, I ventured to my office. There, I also had no electricity. There was also water and varmint intrusion. It remained that way, both at home and at the office, for the next week. While many in the community  were getting back to a normal routine, my office was still shut down and without  phone service for those patients who attempted to call.

As patients could not reach us, many came by to see our dilemma and damage. Each day we prayed that the electric company would fix our problem. One week after the storm, our power was restored, we were able to clean up and reopen on the following Monday. WHAT A RELIEF!!!!

In spite of being closed for ten days, I obviously had  ongoing financial obligations including staff  payroll.  While believing that I was "fully insured," I never expected that so many exclusions could exist in an insurance policy. Many storm victims like me, have "learned"  since Katrina, Charley, Ivan, Frances and other storms that some insurance carriers attempt to differentiate between "wind" and "flood" damage in efforts to avoid liability.

We feel blessed that we were not physically injured by "Charley" or the three subsequent storms that hit our area that year. My fingers remain crossed that 2007 will be storm free....   But  we have learned a valuable lesson!

I would STRONGLY urge that you review your insurance policies and consider a "Business Interruption" provision as accidents and storms do occur.

For a free no obligation review of insurance coverages, please click on STARTING IN PRACTICE .