Weathering the Storm: How Families Can Plan for Natural Disasters
When you plan for natural disasters, you should include far more into your preparations than just food and water for your family. Sure, food and water will help keep everyone alive, but they won’t help you rebuild your life and find “normal” again. Here are some suggestions to help you get back on your feet should your home and community be devastated:
- Make sure you have enough insurance. Basic homeowner’s insurance typically won’t cover damage caused by natural disasters like floods or earthquakes, so you might need to purchase additional insurance to cover these types of events. If you’d like an objective review of the types of insurance you may need, contact us and we can help.
- Keep a thorough inventory of what you own. Having up to date information on your personal belongings—especially valuables—will make getting them replaced using your insurance claim easier. Pictures of your belongings stored in the cloud is one great way to handle this.
- Create a financial plan. Natural disasters can be financially disastrous as well and you may not be able to return to work at the same time you face the expense of repairing—or rebuilding—your home.
- Plan well to ensure you can meet your expenses and make a financial recovery. Account for your insurance deductibles, which can be 10-20% of the total damages, and have six month’s salary in savings to cover any gaps in your ability to earn an income.
- Protect important information by making digital and hard copies. Put a copy in a fireproof/waterproof safe and give copies to friends or family that reside outside of your area for safekeeping.
- Work with a Personal Family Lawyer®. We have unique tools that can safeguard your information to make recovering from a natural disaster easier even when you’ve lost everything.
- Follow standard safety recommendations. Keep enough non-perishable food and water for your family for 3-5 days. Consider investing in a generator, building a first-aid kit, and learning CPR as a family.
- Keep a comprehensive emergency kit with contact information, survival tools, and a change of clothes for your family members. Designate a meeting place all family members can get to in case your home is wiped out. Talk with your family about what to do in different scenarios.
While this is far from a full list of helpful measures you can take, it deferentially is a good place to get started. Keep in mind that families who have someone watching out for them can recover more quickly from natural disasters. Working with us can ensure you have someone waiting to assist you when you face tragedy. A Personal Family Lawyer® can help you with the legal, financial, and insurance issues you face after a natural disaster and help you properly account for losses on your tax return.
This article is a service of Levi Alexander, Personal Family Lawyer®. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Family Wealth Planning Session, ™ during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling our office today to schedule a Family Wealth Planning Session and mention this article to find out how to get this $750 session at no charge.
Photo by Roger Brown: https://www.pexels.com/photo/first-aid-kits-on-white-background-5149757/
