It’s peak hurricane season in the Sunshine State, which means many Floridians are preparing to escape upcoming storms in the same fashion they always do:
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- By sitting in hourslong traffic jams or grossly overpaying for whatever plane seat they can find, if they can find one at all, and assuming it’s not too late.
But this year, a new startup is offering an alternative escape plan — PriorityEvac, which launched in June, promises to evacuate its members on private flights through its new membership-based hurricane evacuation program.
The membership costs $1.25k but the company’s founder, insurance industry vet Jason Murgio, told Forbes that what they’re really selling is “peace of mind.”
How it works
- PriorityEvac monitors storm conditions throughout the season, which runs June 1 through Nov. 30, eliminating the guesswork for members.
- It uses National Hurricane Center forecasting criteria to decide when to activate storm warnings, starting with call/text/email alerts to notify customers and confirm whether they plan to evacuate.
- Then, an agent coordinates the evacuation plan to get the member to their designated airport and on a pre-arranged flight to Atlanta — a major transportation hub just outside the hurricane impact zone — well before landfall.
- From there, members are responsible for figuring out the rest: accommodations, connecting flights, and getting back home after the storm.
For now, the program is only available in Florida, but the company plans to expand to other Southern states and has received inquiries from people in the Caribbean, per Forbes.
Is it worth it?
It depends what “peace of mind” is worth to you. But the company, which is capping membership capacity at ~5k, says it could especially benefit people with medical conditions, young children, or pets, who can make other evacuation options logistically challenging, as well as adults with elderly parents or parents with kids in college living in the state.
- Household plans are available and pets (under 100 pounds) can also tag along for an additional fee.
- Plus, Murgio says one-way tickets can run up to $3k during hurricanes, which, by comparison, makes the membership’s price tag seem almost reasonable.
Just pray there aren’t more than two hurricanes in a given season — that’s as many evacuations as the membership covers per season — or you’ll be left scrambling to navigate gridlock and sold-out flights like everyone else.
