Are You Prepared for the Worst?

By Diane Tait

Image courtesy wikimedia

As an insurance agent, I am always trying to help my clients get covered in case that the worst comesto pass.  Whether this is to help protect their home from the worst that Mother Nature can throw at them, or it is insuring their teenage daughter who is only just learning to drive, in case of a worst-case scenario if she should be involved in an accident.  Since as Ben Franklin pointed out a couple hundred years ago, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” I thought I’d take the time to help all my readers out there prepare for the worst.   

      1.      Does a stitch in time save nine? –  Probably not, but if you value your family’s safety you really should think about getting a first aid kit.  I’m not talking about one of those teeny-weeny kits that you find in the drug store that contain little more than a box of Band-Aids and a tube of salve. I’m talking about a full-scale first aid kit that has everything from gauze pads and ace bandages to butterfly bandages a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff.  While the ER is only a short drive away for most of us, by the time you get there to get seen by a doc, your loved one could be too far gone to save.  Having been an EMT in my youth, I can’t tell you how many times the outcome of a rescue could have had different results had the friends or family of a victim known how to apply direct pressure to a wound or knew how to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation.   It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have several members of your immediate family take a first aid course either.   

      2.      Does your family have a hurricane plan? – Being that Florida is the hurricane capital of the country, you’d think that most people would have plans in place in the event that they have to either evacuate their homes or ride storm out the in their home.  But if you’ll recall the TV broadcasts when the last two hurricanes hit north Florida, most of the population of the Sunshine State acted as though they’d never seen a hurricane before.  Don’t wait until the last minute to lay in storm provisions, including canned goods, bottled water and lots of batteries.  Make sure you’re prepared to protect your property from damage whether you’re there or not.  Create a checklist to remind you to turn off the water main and the power before you head out on the road.  Pack camping gear as well as food and water in your bugout bag so you won’t be forced to rough it in your car if you suddenly find yourself low on gas or stuck in massive gridlock.

     

Image courtesy wikipedia

3.      Where’s the fire? – Other than flood and accident, the third most serious emergency that any family can face together is a fire.  You’d be surprised at how quickly a fire can spread inside your home.  Within seconds the smoke can make it all but impossible to see the door.  More people die from smoke inhalation during a house fire than any other cause.  If your family has fire extinguisher, does everyone know where it is and how to use it?  If a pot on the stove were suddenly to go up in flames, does everyone in your household know what to do?  The last thing you want to do with a burning pot or pan is pick it up off the stove.  The best thing to do is turn off the fire under it and cover it with a lid to extinguish the flames.  Pick it up and it’s likely to be dropped, turning a small controllable fire into a raging inferno.

      4.      Can you make your connection? – In the event of a disaster, your family could have little or no warning.  Even worse, the usual lines of communication could be overwhelmed or down altogether.  This makes it imperative that your family create an emergency connection plan that includes several emergency meeting places where family members know to go in the event that an emergency takes place and cellphone connections are unavailable.  This includes where to go to seek shelter inside your home in the event of emergency and a locale where your family knows to go for pickup outside the home if a sudden area wide emergency was declared.  The last thing you want to happen is to have any family members wandering around lost and confused if everything goes to hell.  The Department of Homeland Security offers an extensive list of pdfs designed to help you and your family prepare for the worst.

https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan

      5.    Cash is king – While everyone always races to the grocery store and Home Depot when an emergency is declared, most folks forget to stop at the bank to get some cash.  Face it, if the power goes out, so will credit card machines and ATMs.  Who knows when the banks will reopen?  If you’re like most people, you make most of your purchases using plastic.  If you want to make any purchases in the midst of a disaster zone that a hurricane can cause, you need to have plenty of cash on hand.

Image courtesy Pixabay

      6.      Car Care – As important as all of your other disaster preparations are prior to or during a crisis, having reliable transportation is every bit as important.  The last thing you want to have happen if you are forced to head for the hills is to have the family sedan breakdown.  Don’t expect the auto service to come to your rescue any time soon if at all during a major emergency such as a hurricane.  Not only will their drivers be overwhelmed, they will in all likelihood head for the hills with the rest of the populace.  Before hurricane season begins, make sure your vehicle is in tip top shape. 

      7.      Insurance Check - Last but not least, before you make a run for it, make sure you take with you all your insurance documents and other important papers.  While the job of insurance companies is to help policyholders recover after a disaster, all too many people return to find their home in a shambles only to realize that all the family’s policies are buried somewhere in the wreckage. 

Diane Tait owns and operates A&B Insurance.  To find out more about how you can save money on boat insurance, go to her site or fill out the form at right.