Hurricane Preparedness Guide for Community Associations Now Available From Becker & Poliakoff

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL--(Marketwired - Jul 9, 2014) - Becker & Poliakoff today announced a timely resource that provides hurricane preparedness guidance for Florida's significant community association population.

The new, comprehensive resource was prepared by the Hurricane Recovery Team of Becker & Poliakoff, a multi-disciplinary task force that assists communities in hurricane preparation and claims recovery. The "Hurricane Preparedness and Recovery Guide for Community Associations" is available free for download at www.hurricane-recovery.com/guide.

"Community association boards and managers are responsible for preparing their communities for hurricane season," said Ken Direktor, chair of the Community Association Law Practice group at Becker & Poliakoff. "Our new Guide teaches boards and managers to prepare themselves, their members and their property for the approach as well as the aftermath of a serious storm or other disaster, not by doing it alone but by enlisting the assistance of qualified professionals."

Board Certified construction attorney Bill Strop, who serves as Chair of the Hurricane Recovery Team, added, "The members of our Hurricane Recovery team have decades of experience in dealing with disaster scenarios on behalf of condominiums, cooperatives, HOAs and mobile home parks not only in Florida but throughout the U.S. The Hurricane Preparedness Guide is just one of many resources we provide to hard-working volunteer boards and managers in the hopes that they will follow our advice and avoid the common pitfalls associated with the complicated preparation and recovery process."

Leading community association industry companies with in-depth experience in assisting volunteer boards have also contributed to the Guide, including Associa, Castle Group, Danon Management Group, FirstService Residential, KW Property Management & Consulting, Plastridge Insurance and Sentry Management.

The topics in the new Guide address all phases of hurricane and disaster planning, preparation, recovery, and property restoration including:

• Hurricane evacuation & relocation
• Best Practices for Records Safekeeping and Benchmarking
• Employee policies
• Disaster committees
• Community Emergency Response Teams
• Emergency communications
• Board emergency powers
• Property inventories
• Insurance & reserves
• Hurricane insurance claims
• Pre-negotiated service contracts

To download the 24-page Guide, please visit www.hurricane-recovery.com/guide. For more information about the other resources provided by the Hurricane Recovery Team please contact Donna DiMaggio Berger, Shareholder, Becker & Poliakoff, at 954.364.6031 or DBerger@bplegal.com.

About the Hurricane Recovery Team
Becker & Poliakoff's Hurricane Preparation and Claims Recovery Team is a dedicated, multi-disciplinary task force comprised of board certified construction law experts, specific structural engineering experts, electrical/corrosion engineering experts, general contractor experts, estimators, adjusters, plumbing and other specific experts that know how to find damage and process claims. The team has handled thousands of storm-related claims, including dozens of hurricanes in Florida, New York and New Jersey.

About Becker & Poliakoff
Becker & Poliakoff is a diverse commercial law firm with more than 170 attorneys, lobbyists and other professionals in 20 domestic and international offices. The firm has eight primary areas of practice: Real Estate, Construction Law & Litigation, Community Association, Customs & International Trade, Business Litigation, Corporate & Securities, Government Law & Lobbying, and the Intellectual Property & Emerging Technologies practice. For more about the firm, visit: www.bplegal.com or www.bplegal.com/blogs.aspx to access forums on the latest ideas and opinions on legal matters hosted by Becker & Poliakoff attorneys.