Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. Now Reading:. Membership My Account. Rewards for Good. Share with facebook. Share with twitter. Share with linkedin. Share using email. Are you ready for this year's hurricane season? Conduct a home inventory Be prepared for disasters Prepare for your evacuation. Essentials should include: Water one gallon per day per person Food canned and dry goods, high-calorie food bars Personal first-aid kit Battery-powered flashlight with extra batteries Battery-powered radio with extra batteries Personal medication record Prescriptions In the event you need to evacuate, here is a grab-and-go checklist of handy items to take with you: Driver's license or personal identification Basic supplies: water, food, first-aid kit, hygiene items Prescription medications, glasses or contact lenses Maps: the official evacuation route, alternate routes and a list of shelters Car keys and keys to the place you are going if applicable Cash or traveler's checks You should also know what exactly your homeowners policy covers and if a flood insurance policy adequately protects your valuables and will pay for any damage to your home.
Leaving AARP. Got it! Please don't show me this again for 90 days. Your hurricane deductible is clearly stated on the front page Declarations page of your homeowners insurance policy. Hurricane deductibles apply solely to damage from hurricanes, and typically vary from 1 percent to 5 percent of the insured value of a home.
Hurricane deductibles are incorporated into homeowners insurance policies in 18 coastal states and the District of Columbia. Due to these differences, homeowners should check their policy carefully.
Action : Contact your insurance agent or company representative to make sure you understand your hurricane deductible. This includes how much it will be as well as what triggers the deductible. Do not wait until there is another hurricane to find out whether you have a hurricane deductible and how it will be applied. Maintain a Home Inventory A home inventory is a detailed list of your personal possessions together with their estimated value.
This is an important document that will help you: Buy the amount of insurance you need Get your insurance claim settled faster Verify losses for your income tax return Keep track of your belongings in order to substantiate losses when applying for financial aid after a catastrophe There are many ways to organize a home inventory.
You can do it room by room, category by category furniture, electronics, etc. There are also many approaches to creating your inventory. You can simply write everything down in a notebook, or take pictures and write the information on the back of the photos or save it on your computer.
If you own a video camera or smart phone, another option is to walk through your house filming and describing the contents. You can also use the I. Action : Schedule a time to create or update your home inventory. If you have children, get them involved by asking them to help make lists or record items with a smart phone or camera. Keep your Insurance Up-to-Date The time to review your insurance is before you need to file a claim. After Hurricane Irene many homeowners and renters had little knowledge of how much insurance they had or what was covered by their policy.
As a general rule, you should have enough insurance to rebuild your home and replace all of its contents. If you make a large purchase or major improvement to your home, always update your policy. And if you are a renter, get renters insurance so your possessions are covered.
You should also find out how much coverage is available for additional living expenses ALE. These expenses could include the cost of a temporary rental home or hotel room, restaurant, meals and any other expenses incurred in the event your home is uninhabitable while it is being repaired or rebuilt due to an insured disaster. Some policies provide coverage for 20 percent of the amount of insurance you have on your house. Others may specify a time period. Additional coverage is generally available for an additional cost.
If you own a car, consider purchasing the optional comprehensive coverage when buying your auto insurance policy as it will reimburse you for weather-related disasters such as flooding, or a tree falling on your car. Action : Schedule a time to talk to your insurance agent or company representative and review all of your policies—every year. Make sure that you understand how much insurance you have and what disasters are covered and what are not, and that you have accounted for any changes in your circumstances, such as building an addition to your home.
If you need additional insurance protection, get it now. Have an Evacuation Plan For many people, Hurricane Irene was the first major disaster that required them to evacuate their home—a reminder of the importance of having an evacuation plan in place.
If you have pets you will need even more advanced planning, as many public shelters do not accept animals. Here are a few key steps to planning an evacuation: Identify where you can go in the event of an evacuation. Try to have more than one option: the home of a friend or family member in another town, a hotel or a shelter.
Keep the phone numbers and addresses of these locations handy. Also, homeowners should roll up rugs. If a hurricane or tropical storm approaches, homeowners should notify the lender or bank that has taken ownership of the foreclosed property, as well as town officials, of concerns regarding foreclosed homes, he said. For insurance purposes and for your own personal keepsake in case of a disaster, Rochman said you should have a home inventory or a photographic record.
While you are doing that, you can consider which few items to bring in case of an evacuation. FEMA recommends people should have at least a three-day supply of water and you should store at least one gallon of water per person per day.
Rochmann recommends at least a week's supply of water. A normally active person needs at least one-half gallon of water daily just for drinking, but sometimes children, nursing mothers, the sick and people in hot temperatures may require more, according to FEMA.
Rochman also said you should have covered foods and about a month's supply of medication. You should also prepare traditional and special batteries for products like cell phones. Rochman said that during Hurricane Katrina, there were some people who did not evacuate as recommended because they had pets, or they did not know what to do with their pets.
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