Every home should have disaster plan
Cox News Service
August 28, 2005
ATLANTA — Atlanta may never suffer a disaster as extensive as the hammering Hurricane Katrina imposed on the Gulf Coast.
Georgia's recent suffering came from tornadoes — one dead and scores of houses destroyed as Katrina passed by to the west.
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For one reason or another, most households have gaps in their protective screens. "Everybody's busy," said consumer spokeswoman Jeanne Salvatore of the Insurance Information Institute. "Besides, nobody wants to think that anything bad is going to happen to them."
The steps are not all that hard. Here are the big three: Inventory your belongings, make sure they are insured and take steps to protect the records you can't live without.
Count your blessings
This means a meticulous and detailed inventory of all your belongings, from clothes to electronics and vehicles. These are the records you will need to report your losses, build your insurance claims and rebuild your lives.
"The best way do it is room by room, making accurate notes on each item of furniture or artwork and other personal belongings," said Dave Colmans of the Georgia Insurance Information Service.
It's a good idea to make photographs or to videotape everything as you go along. For everyday possessions, such as kitchenware and linens, the images will jog your memory later. For expensive items, such as electronics and appliances, photographs will prove that everything you claim really was there.
For electronics, you should record model numbers and serial numbers. For jewelry, art, collectibles and the like, you should gather written descriptions and, if possible, appraisals.
Write down the details of what you paid for these high-dollar items and when you bought them.
Don't forget to go outside, recording the condition of your house, landscaping and any other improvements.
If you can, record all the details in your computer, including digital photographs. Make a backup copy, of course. "You can take it with you, or you can e-mail it to yourself," said Salvatore.
Insure those blessings
Assuming you already have homeowners insurance, make sure it is up to date.
"We may get insurance when we move into a new place, but don't think, five years down the road, whether it's adequate to what we need to cover today," said Rebecca Locke, an American Red Cross executive who has worked through post-hurricane recoveries.
A replacement cost policy is a good idea, because it is the best way to keep up with the impacts of inflation.
This is important: Flooding is usually not included in homeowners insurance policies. You'll have to buy separate coverage for that.
If you are a renter, note that the landlord's insurance covers his building, not your possessions. Make sure your belongings are insured — for replacement cost, not what you paid for them. "Cash value covers the depreciated value of what you paid," said Salvatore. "You're not going to get that much back."
Protect your records
Your first step is to move many of your original documents to a safe deposit box, if they are not already there. Into the box go such things as birth and marriage certificates, military records, property deeds and perhaps insurance policies, and stock and bond certificates.
Make a list of everything in the box and spread some copies around. A lawyer or financial adviser, as well as a family member or two, might get a copy. You can also put it with your computerized property inventory.
The Red Cross suggests that every family assemble an evacuation box. This is the place for records you might need in a hot escape from disaster.
This should include a list of emergency contacts, copies of prescriptions and medical records, copies of insurance policies, those backup computer disks of critical information, and perhaps copies of other important family and financial records.
Other things for the grab-and-run box can include some cash — remember that ATMs need electricity to work — as well as irreplaceable keepsakes and your safe deposit box key.
Other important points
• Make an evacuation plan and be sure every family member has a copy. Your plan can include designated rallying points, cellphone numbers or other contact information, and the names and phone numbers every family member can call to report where they are and what's going on. "If we've all decided we'll call Aunt Sally and she hears from all of us, then we all know that everybody is OK," said Locke.
• Plan to update all these emergency records from time to time. Put a reminder on your calendar, perhaps six months or a year from now, so the chore will be harder to forget or ignore.
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