The following steps can help you reduce the physical destruction to your property if you were to be hit with a disaster. These steps can reduce your insurance costs, too.
• Install smoke detectors to warn of an apartment or home fire.
• Elevate utilities to upper floor or attic.
• Clear surrounding brush to protect your home against wildfires.
• Anchor your house to the foundation, and anchor the roof to the main frame.
• Secure objects that could fall and cause damage in an earthquake, such as a bookcase or hot water heater.
• Cover windows, turn off utilities, or move possessions to a safer location if you have adequate warning of something like a hurricane or flood.
• If your home is in a high risk flood area or on a fault line, consider relocating.
• Have your house inspected by a building inspector or architect to find out what structural improvements could prevent or reduce major damage from disasters.
• If you haven't yet bought a house, you might take construction type into account. Frame houses tend to withstand some disasters, while brick homes hold up better in others.
• Contact your local fire department to see if they will evaluate your property and make suggestions on how to improve safety.
• In earthquake-prone areas, your local utility can show you how and where to shut off gas lines or how to elevate utilities to get them above a possible flood.
Conduct a Household Inventory
Inventory your household possessions by making a list of everything you own. If disaster strikes, this list could:
• Help you prove the value of what you owned if those possessions are damaged or destroyed.
• Make it more likely you'll receive a fast, fair payment from your insurance company for your losses.
• Provide documentation for tax deductions you claim for your losses.
Once you have completed your inventory, leave a copy with relatives or friends, or in a safe deposit box. Don't leave your only copy at home, where it might be destroyed.
Buy Insurance
Even with adequate time to prepare for a disaster, you still may suffer significant, unavoidable damage to your property. That's when insurance for renters or homeowners can be a big help. Make sure you buy the insurance you need to protect against the perils you face.
Where to Keep Cash
After a disaster, you may need cash for the first few days, or even several weeks. Income may stop if you can't work. To help stay solvent, keep a small amount of cash or traveler's checks at home in a place where you can get at it quickly in case of a sudden evacuation. The money should be in small denominations for easier use.
Set aside money in an emergency fund. Keep your emergency funds in a safe, easily accessible account, such as a passbook savings account or a money market account. You should also keep some funds outside the local area, since the disaster that affects you could also affect your local financial institutions. Keep your credit cards paid off. You may have to draw on them to tide you over.
Use an evacuation box. Buy a lockable, durable "evacuation box" to grab in the event of an emergency. Put important papers into the box in sealed, waterproof plastic bags. Store the box in your home where you can get to it easily. Keep this box with you at all times, don't leave it in your unattended car. The box should contain:
• A small amount of traveler's checks or cash and a few rolls of quarters.
• A backup computer drive or film negatives for irreplaceable personal photographs, protected in plastic sleeves.
• A list of emergency contacts (doctors, financial advisors, clergy, reputable repair contractors, and family members who live outside your area).
• Copies of important prescriptions for medicines and eyeglasses, and copies of children's immunization records.
• Health, dental, or prescription insurance cards or information.
• Copies of your auto, flood, renter's, or homeowners insurance policies (or at least policy numbers) and a list of insurance company telephone numbers.
• Copies of other important financial and family records (or at least a list of their locations). These would include deeds, titles, wills, a letter of instructions, birth and marriage certificates, passports, relevant employee benefits documents, the first two pages of the previous year's federal and state income tax returns, etc. Originals, other than wills, should be kept in a safe deposit box or at another location.
• Backups of computerized financial records.
• A list of bank account, loan, credit card, driver's license, investment account (brokerage and mutual funds), and Social Security numbers.
• Safe deposit box key.
Rent a Safe Deposit Box
Safe deposit boxes are invaluable for protecting originals of important papers. If you don't have a safe deposit box, keep copies in your evacuation box or with family or friends. Original documents to store in a safe deposit box include:
• Deeds, titles, and other ownership records for your home, autos, RVs, boats, etc.
• Birth certificates and naturalization papers.
• Marriage license/divorce papers and child custody papers.
• Passports and military/veteran papers.
• Appraisals of expensive jewelry and heirlooms.
• Certificates for stocks, bonds, and other investments.
• Trust agreements.
• Living wills, powers of attorney, and health care powers of attorney.
• Insurance policies (copies are sufficient).
• Home improvement records.
• Household inventory documentation.
Generally, originals of wills should not be kept in a safe deposit box since the box may be sealed temporarily after death. Keep originals of wills with your local registrar of wills or your attorney.
Deciding on a safe and convenient location is an issue. You may want to consider renting a safe deposit box in a bank far enough away from your home so it is not likely to be affected by the same disaster that strikes your home (for instance, bank vaults have been flooded). Keep the key to the safe deposit box in your evacuation box.
Home Safes and Fire Boxes
Safes and fire boxes can be convenient places to store important papers. However, some disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, or tornadoes, could destroy your home. Usually, it's better to store original papers in a safe deposit box or at another location well away from your home.
If you have time...
Some disasters, such as tornadoes or earthquakes, strike with little or no warning. Others, such as floods or hurricanes, may allow some time to prepare. If there is enough time, you could take the following actions:
• Decide what household items you would put on a very short priority list. For example, imagine you could take only one suitcase or pack a single carload. What would you take? Involve the whole family in this discussion.
• Take jewelry and other small valuables.
• Take irreplaceable heirlooms, mementos, and photos.
• Don't bother with replaceable items such as televisions, furniture, computers, and clothing (except what you need to wear for a few days).
• Be sure, however, to take a battery-powered radio and spare batteries so you can stay informed.
• Take important papers and computer disks if you have a home business.
For more information, call Alice Dyle at (314) 516.2753.
Related Links:
FEMA -- www.fema.gov
NEFE -- www.nefe.org
This information is made available through your local American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It is provided as a public service of the Red Cross and the Public Education Center of the Denver-based National Endowment for Financial Education. All Red Cross disaster relief is free of charge--a gift of the American people. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides assistance--principally low-cost loans--for disaster recovery from Presidentially declared disasters. The National Endowment is an independent non-profit educational organization dedicated to improving the financial well-being of Americans.
CFP and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER are federally registered service marks of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
The original brochure was published by the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Endowment for Financial Education.
The following steps can help you reduce the physical destruction to your property if you were to be hit with a disaster. These steps can reduce your insurance costs, too.
• Install smoke detectors to warn of an apartment or home fire.
• Elevate utilities to upper floor or attic.
• Clear surrounding brush to protect your home against wildfires.
• Anchor your house to the foundation, and anchor the roof to the main frame.
• Secure objects that could fall and cause damage in an earthquake, such as a bookcase or hot water heater.
• Cover windows, turn off utilities, or move possessions to a safer location if you have adequate warning of something like a hurricane or flood.
• If your home is in a high risk flood area or on a fault line, consider relocating.
• Have your house inspected by a building inspector or architect to find out what structural improvements could prevent or reduce major damage from disasters.
• If you haven't yet bought a house, you might take construction type into account. Frame houses tend to withstand some disasters, while brick homes hold up better in others.
• Contact your local fire department to see if they will evaluate your property and make suggestions on how to improve safety.
• In earthquake-prone areas, your local utility can show you how and where to shut off gas lines or how to elevate utilities to get them above a possible flood.
Conduct a Household Inventory
Inventory your household possessions by making a list of everything you own. If disaster strikes, this list could:
• Help you prove the value of what you owned if those possessions are damaged or destroyed.
• Make it more likely you'll receive a fast, fair payment from your insurance company for your losses.
• Provide documentation for tax deductions you claim for your losses.
Once you have completed your inventory, leave a copy with relatives or friends, or in a safe deposit box. Don't leave your only copy at home, where it might be destroyed.
Buy Insurance
Even with adequate time to prepare for a disaster, you still may suffer significant, unavoidable damage to your property. That's when insurance for renters or homeowners can be a big help. Make sure you buy the insurance you need to protect against the perils you face.
Where to Keep Cash
After a disaster, you may need cash for the first few days, or even several weeks. Income may stop if you can't work. To help stay solvent, keep a small amount of cash or traveler's checks at home in a place where you can get at it quickly in case of a sudden evacuation. The money should be in small denominations for easier use.
Set aside money in an emergency fund. Keep your emergency funds in a safe, easily accessible account, such as a passbook savings account or a money market account. You should also keep some funds outside the local area, since the disaster that affects you could also affect your local financial institutions. Keep your credit cards paid off. You may have to draw on them to tide you over.
Use an evacuation box. Buy a lockable, durable "evacuation box" to grab in the event of an emergency. Put important papers into the box in sealed, waterproof plastic bags. Store the box in your home where you can get to it easily. Keep this box with you at all times, don't leave it in your unattended car. The box should contain:
• A small amount of traveler's checks or cash and a few rolls of quarters.
• A backup computer drive or film negatives for irreplaceable personal photographs, protected in plastic sleeves.
• A list of emergency contacts (doctors, financial advisors, clergy, reputable repair contractors, and family members who live outside your area).
• Copies of important prescriptions for medicines and eyeglasses, and copies of children's immunization records.
• Health, dental, or prescription insurance cards or information.
• Copies of your auto, flood, renter's, or homeowners insurance policies (or at least policy numbers) and a list of insurance company telephone numbers.
• Copies of other important financial and family records (or at least a list of their locations). These would include deeds, titles, wills, a letter of instructions, birth and marriage certificates, passports, relevant employee benefits documents, the first two pages of the previous year's federal and state income tax returns, etc. Originals, other than wills, should be kept in a safe deposit box or at another location.
• Backups of computerized financial records.
• A list of bank account, loan, credit card, driver's license, investment account (brokerage and mutual funds), and Social Security numbers.
• Safe deposit box key.
Rent a Safe Deposit Box
Safe deposit boxes are invaluable for protecting originals of important papers. If you don't have a safe deposit box, keep copies in your evacuation box or with family or friends. Original documents to store in a safe deposit box include:
• Deeds, titles, and other ownership records for your home, autos, RVs, boats, etc.
• Birth certificates and naturalization papers.
• Marriage license/divorce papers and child custody papers.
• Passports and military/veteran papers.
• Appraisals of expensive jewelry and heirlooms.
• Certificates for stocks, bonds, and other investments.
• Trust agreements.
• Living wills, powers of attorney, and health care powers of attorney.
• Insurance policies (copies are sufficient).
• Home improvement records.
• Household inventory documentation.
Generally, originals of wills should not be kept in a safe deposit box since the box may be sealed temporarily after death. Keep originals of wills with your local registrar of wills or your attorney.
Deciding on a safe and convenient location is an issue. You may want to consider renting a safe deposit box in a bank far enough away from your home so it is not likely to be affected by the same disaster that strikes your home (for instance, bank vaults have been flooded). Keep the key to the safe deposit box in your evacuation box.
Home Safes and Fire Boxes
Safes and fire boxes can be convenient places to store important papers. However, some disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, or tornadoes, could destroy your home. Usually, it's better to store original papers in a safe deposit box or at another location well away from your home.
If you have time...
Some disasters, such as tornadoes or earthquakes, strike with little or no warning. Others, such as floods or hurricanes, may allow some time to prepare. If there is enough time, you could take the following actions:
• Decide what household items you would put on a very short priority list. For example, imagine you could take only one suitcase or pack a single carload. What would you take? Involve the whole family in this discussion.
• Take jewelry and other small valuables.
• Take irreplaceable heirlooms, mementos, and photos.
• Don't bother with replaceable items such as televisions, furniture, computers, and clothing (except what you need to wear for a few days).
• Be sure, however, to take a battery-powered radio and spare batteries so you can stay informed.
• Take important papers and computer disks if you have a home business.
For more information, call Alice Dyle at (314) 516.2753.
Related Links:
FEMA -- www.fema.gov
NEFE -- www.nefe.org
This information is made available through your local American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It is provided as a public service of the Red Cross and the Public Education Center of the Denver-based National Endowment for Financial Education. All Red Cross disaster relief is free of charge--a gift of the American people. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides assistance--principally low-cost loans--for disaster recovery from Presidentially declared disasters. The National Endowment is an independent non-profit educational organization dedicated to improving the financial well-being of Americans.
CFP and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER are federally registered service marks of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
The original brochure was published by the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Endowment for Financial Education.