What is FURA?
F.U.R.A. (Feature. Underwriting. Rating. Approach.) is Hawaiian Hurricane Groups unique approach to underwriting and rating. FURA allows us to rate based on structure features such as foundation, roof type, improvements & alterations rather than strictly age.
How does FURA help me save money?
Because FURA rates on Features of the house rather than age, older remodeled homes that have added wind mitigation features receive credits and save money.
Example: If you have recently remodeled your home, replaced your roof or windows, FURA can save you money!
If your home has been retrofitted with wind mitigation devices such as hurricane clips, FURA can save you money!
HHG encourages homeowners to add these wind mitigation devices by offering substantial premium savings & credits that help pay for the installation.
Hawaii’s unique features within its housing stock
There are many single wall homes that would have difficulty meeting today’s building codes and standards applied if repair or replacement is required. Many insurance contracts are designed to replace a families home if it is damaged or destroyed. However, most insurance contracts being utilized in Hawaii on Single Wall and other older constructed homes do not provide coverage appropriate for these Single Wall Homes. Hawaiian Hurricane Group has specifically designed contracts and coverage to fit the needs of the local Hawaiian housing stock, including Single Wall and older homes.
Hawaiian Hurricane Group automatically mitigates the ‘Ordinance or Law’ exclusion. This means that our coverage includes the cost of bringing your home up to code & protects you from what may be a significant gap in coverage & extra expenses should you suffer a loss.
Custom Built for Hawaii
Our hurricane insurance product was custom built to benefit our customers by providing Hawaiian homeowners with enhanced coverage at a superior price.
Our product is unique not because we simply say it is, but because the Hawaiian islands are unique, and our product was designed and built specifically for Hawai'i.
The first element that separates Hawaiian Hurricane Group is the custom design of our product to better reflect the Meteorological nature of the Hawaiian islands and their place within the Central Pacific Ocean.
There are two Meteorological characteristics that are unique and that help protect, but not eliminate, Hawaii’s exposure to hurricane:
Cooler Water Temperatures.
The temperature of the world's ocean surface provides a clear indication of the regions where hurricanes and typhoons form and travel, since they can only form and strengthen when the sea surface temperature exceeds 27.8°C (82°F). In this visualization of AMSR-E data covering the period from June, 2002 to September, 2003, areas with surface temperatures greater than 82°F are shown in yellow and orange, while sea surface temperatures below 82°F are shown in blue. Notice Hawaii on the left surrounded by blue. Also evident is why so many storms track to the south of the islands. Other areas of the Pacific, both Eastern and Western, have warmer waters, and as hurricanes build in the Eastern Pacific they normally, but not always, weaken as they approach the cooler waters surrounding Hawaii.
Shear Winds.
The Hawaiian Islands normally have surface trade winds that flow East to West, but upper atmosphere winds that flow West to East. This creates a shearing effect that is also not conducive to the propagation of hurricanes. Hurricanes need a stable atmosphere in which to build. Hurricanes approaching Hawaii normally, but not always, encounter these shear winds that create a difficult environment for the propagation of a hurricane.