If a damaging storm were to hit your home or business, are you financially prepared? When you live in an area affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters, there are financial precautions you need to take to protect yourself. Natural disasters are unpredictable and you never know when they might change your life. Doing these four things will put your finances in order before a storm strikes.
Have Emergency Cash on Hand
After a major storm, it’s really hard to do anything without cash. It’s common for debit machines at stores to be down and ATMs to be out of service because of a lack of power. Most banks don’t open for a while, either, making it really hard to get cash. Therefore, you should have some emergency cash stashed for events like this. It’s hard to know how much money you will need, but $100 per person should be a good starting target. Also, make sure to have your emergency cash in small bills, since most places won’t have change.
Keep Important Papers Together in a Secure Place In the event of an evacuation, you don’t want to be running around looking for important papers. Store them all together in a secure container that you can grab on the go. Your important papers should include things like birth certificates, passports, insurance documentation, and deeds to everything you own. If possible, your container should be lightweight, fireproof, and waterproof. This is important because depending on how big the natural disaster is, it may be impossible to find these paper later.
Buy Insurance to Ease Financial Worries
You can buy insurance for pretty much everything, including natural disasters. Of course, every state has a different probability of being hit by a hurricane or other natural disaster, which is why the insurance rates vary so much from state to state. If you’re interested in purchasing hurricane insurance, look online to see the rates in your area. The monthly premium could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars if your property is damaged or destroyed in a major storm. Plus, having insurance puts your mind at ease during a disaster so you can stay calm and do the things you need to.
Prepare Your House for the Disaster
If you take a look at history, you can tell what natural disasters you are susceptible to based on where you live. For instance Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and North Carolina have the highest probability of a high category hurricane. And, most hurricanes hit between August and September. Therefore, you will be better off financially if you prepare your house to endure a natural disaster. Storm shutters, reinforced roofs and walls, and other home modifications make your home better able to withstand a hurricane and save you money on costly repairs. If you take these precautions, you will be better prepared financially to handle a hurricane or other natural disasters. Being prepared saves you a lot of hassle and worry.
Author Bio:
Jake Fisher is a freelance writer with a strong grasp on many interesting bits of information. Find him writing about anything related to tech, culture, DIY, and more! He suggests using homeinsurance.com to check out insurance rates in your area.