Reading information and watching footage of the Texas wildfires  reminds us of the importance of being prepared for the worst.  Record drought conditions in the state combined with dry winds can be a disaster in the making .  When wildfires start, a family can only have moments, even mere seconds, to evacuate.  For  families in this situation, being prepared takes on a whole new meaning.  Here a few tips for help you prepare your family for any type of major catastrophe.

Develop a Home Disaster Plan

Whether your disaster plan is geared towards fire, hurricane, or earthquake exposure, having a home disaster plan can make the difference between life and death in many cases.  Understand the region you  live in.  If you are new to the area, have a discussion with your insurance agent.  You and your agent can discuss the most common claims for the area.  That way, you can prepare for the most common disasters in your areas.  For example, people that live in the Houston area, are exposed to Hurricane, Wind, and Hail; remember Hurricane Ike?  Luckily, we’re in Dallas.  So you only have to prepare for fires and the occasional Tornado.  For help developing your home readiness plan, visit READY.GOV.

Review your home insurance policy

Many times people moving to a new area or purchasing a home for the first time only go with the insurance agent referred by their realtor or loan officer.  Failuring to review your policy is another recipe for disaster.  Imagine this scenario, just to get into your home, your mortgage person referred your insurance to a person that got you the absolutely lowest rate on your homeowners insurance.

Since you’re no insurance agent, you counted on your mortgage person and realtor to refer you to an insurance person that writes the proper policy.  What if that policy only covers fire and lightning coverage for your structure only?  Did you know that home policies of this type exist?  After a hailstorm or fire is the wrong time to find out that your family’s home policy only has coverage for the home’s structure.  Be sure to review your home insurance policy with your insurance agent to ensure you have more than just fire and lightning coverage.

Maintain your home inventory offsite.

Maintaining your personal inventory offsite is a big one these days.  The ever increasing power and capabilities of computers, tablets, and smartphones make it easier than ever to maintain your home’s inventory in case of a disaster.  The Insurance Information Institute offers free home inventory software online.  If you’re the techie type, you can take pictures on your smartphone and save them to a cloud storage system somewhere.  If you’re like my mom, just use the home investory software from III.