• Introduction: Preparing for an emergency
• Quick Checklist
• Your emergency preparedness kit
• Keeping informed
• Contact information
• Handling mail safely
• Reporting suspicious activity
• When electrical power is lost
• Emergency shelter
• Checking on relatives and neighbors
• Evacuation
• Chemical/biological emergencies
• Emergency planning for pets
• Emergency planning for businesses
• Making financial preparations
• Children in school
• Keeping warm
• Links to Additional Information

Falcon Heights Home Guide to Emergency Preparedness

Making Financial Preparations

Whether you own your home or rent, there are many things you can do to protect your home and possessions. You can increase your safety and reduce your insurance costs by:

• Installing safety equipment such as smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors to alert you to potentially deadly conditions.
• Having your house inspected by a building inspector or architect to find out what structural improvements could prevent or reduce major damage from disasters.
• Conducting an inventory of your household possessions to help you prove the value of what you own for insurance purposes if those possessions are damaged or destroyed and to provide documentation for tax deductions you claim for your losses. Make a visual or written record of your possessions. Include photographs of cars, boats, and recreational vehicles. Get professional appraisals of jewelry, collectibles, artwork, or other items that are difficult to value. Update the appraisals every two to three years.
• Keeping the originals of all important financial and family documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, wills, deeds, tax returns, insurance policies, and stock and bond certificates in a safe place. Store copies elsewhere. You'll need accessible records for tax and insurance purposes.
• Photographing the exterior of your home. Include the landscaping - that big tree in the front yard may not be insurable, but it does increase the value of your property for tax purposes.
• Making copies of receipts and canceled checks for more valuable items.
• Updating your inventory list annually and putting a copy in a safe place.
• Buying insurance.

Even with adequate time to prepare for a disaster, you still may suffer significant, unavoidable damage to your property. That's when insurance for renters or homeowners can be a big help. Yet, many people affected by recent disasters have been underinsured - or worse - not insured at all. Homeowner's insurance doesn't cover floods and some other major disasters. Make sure you buy the insurance you may need to protect against the perils you may face.

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