For those of you who live in Coastal States, we all know what June 1 signifies. That’s right. Hurricane Season. After living through 6 or more hurricanes (including a pretty strong Cat 3 storm), I truly appreciate the importance of preparing for the worst. However, as a kid growing up in Tornado Alley, I, also, understand that Natural Disasters can strike at a moment’s notice. Most of us don’t give a lot of thought to how we will deal with the rebuilding process if a natural disaster may hit. Whether it’s a flood, hurricane, tornado, forest fire, mood slide or earthquake, we should all be prepared for the possibility that we may need to move at a moment’s notice. With that being said, here are a few common sense legal tips for Natural Disasters:
1) If you keep all of your money in your house, guess what happens when your house is destroyed? I know a lot of people who don’t trust banks. And if you have to get on the road quickly, you may not have access to an ATM machine or a bank. There’s nothing wrong with keeping a few dollars handy but let’s be real. If you keep ALL of your money in your home, what are you going to do if you don’t have time to get it all? Keep your money in a bank or credit union so you have the ability to access your money from a remote location if you need to do so.
2) First time, shame on them. Second time, shame on you. If you’ve been through a natural disaster in your area and survived, consider yourself blessed. However, if you learn nothing from that previous experience, you can’t be mad if you didn’t make the necessary preparation for a second time. Pay close attention to the things that you didn’t do the first time around to ensure that you have the necessary preparations.
3) Keep sensitive documents in a place where someone can get to them. If you have a will or life insurance policy or some other document, you may want to create a duplicate so that someone else can access it if they need it. Think about it. If your home is destroyed and you only have one copy of your document, reconstructing it may be an issue.
4) Create a grab bag. Take a Ziploc bag (a big one) and put every sensitive document you may need in the bag. Birth certificates, marriage licenses, insurance policies, mortgages, wills. Keep this bag in a location where you can ‘grab it’ and run. If you have to leave on a moment’s notice, you won’t have time to run all over the place looking for documents.
5) Tell someone that it is about to GO DOWN!!! You should always keep family and friends informed of the natural disasters that are in your area. Most disasters come with no warning so that if your loved ones realize that you are in that area, your phone will probably start blowing up. For Hurricanes, you usually have enough time to move but you still want SOMEONE to know that you are about to be mobile so they will know about your whereabouts.
6) Three numbers you should always carry: Your family / friends, your insurance, and your state attorney general. Now, Family should be self explanatory. You should contact your insurance company as soon as possible to let them know that you may have a claim. Now, some of you may be looking crazy because I said “your state attorney general”. Recognize this, in a time of crisis, people look for opportunity in the midst of misery. That’s usually when you see price gouging and people trying to take advantage. Most state attorneys general are ready for those people who are trying to run dirty. They won’t know unless you tell them.
7) Check your policies. Make sure you contact your insurance carrier to get an idea of what your policy covers. The last thing you want is to put a claim forward and realize that you are not covered.
8) Inventory your effects. Wooooooo, I know I set you back on this one. You probably think that you know everything in your house. Well, start writing a list and you will quickly realize that you have more things than you think.
9) Use the resources. Emergency Response teams in most cities and counties are prepared to provide you the support you need to prepare for a disaster and rebuild after a disaster.
10) Be safe / Be smart.
Some of the things that I’ve shared with you may seem very generic. However, after having to relocate following two hurricanes, I realized that most of us are ill prepared to handle a natural disaster when it comes. Even more disturbing is that most of us don’t realize how difficult it is to start over when you are attempting to reconstruct your life. Prepare now so that you are ready for when the worst comes.
