Review Property Insurance Needs

Flood and Earthquake coverage are separate policies. If you are a resident of California you can purchase Earthquake Insurance through your insurance provider, as long as they are authorized to represent the California Earthquake Authority. The Federal Government sets the rates for Flood Insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. The policy can also be administered through your insurance provider of choice.

Because renters insurance is not necessary to sign a lease and move into a residence, a good portion of renters never obtain renters insurance. I purchased my policy in May after a robbery in my home occurred while I was out doing errands. I also purchased an Earthquake policy at an annual premium of $108. What sold me on the policy is the Additional Living Expense and Loss of Rent. I am not covered for fire, explosion or water damage from flood, rain, tsunami, or water below the surface of the ground, whether it be natural or not. The family liability protection is at $100,00 for each occurrence, $1,000 guest medical protection at $1,000 for each person.

I have my auto insurance through Allstate and made the telephone call to their offices directly for my insurance needs. I was asked several questions when I applied for both Renters and Earthquake Insurance.

There is also a separate policy offered through Allstate, known as Schedules Personal Property Coverage. If you work from home and utilize your computer or audio-visual equipment for business purposes these will be covered as well.

It is important to document all major purchases throughout the year and contact your agent or insurance provider to include these items in your property insurance policies. These would include a new computer, laptop, exercise equipment, new furniture, new appliances, etc.

I am a home health care worker for my son and get my health and dental insurance through the Union. If a home health care worker would be coming into my house on a daily basis I would need to make note of that on an insurance policy. In California there is the California Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Coverage for Residence Employees Coverage. This would be noted on the Policy Declaration of the Condominium and Renters or Standard, Deluxe or Deluxe Plus Homeowners policies.

If you rent out a room in your home or have taken in displaced residents from Hurricane Katrina, you should contact your insurance agent or provider and get the additional persons added onto your policy. Make a monthly note on your calendar to do an insurance checkup. I also keep a copy of the banking locations for my state in one of the emergency suitcases.

While gathering important documents don’t forget the schooling data if you have children. This would include the recent test results, report cards and progress reports. It will help in case you have to enroll your child in another school.

I always kept our emergency suitcases at the back door and have changed that to a high storage cabinet that is easy to access when emergencies occur. I learned from seeing the flooding of homes on the news coverage. Think of the replacement cost of all your items if you are a renter and have no insurance as of this date.

I have now looked into purchasing Flood Insurance. The site states, “Buildings in these zones could be flooded by severe, concentrated rainfall coupled with inadequate local drainage systems. Flood insurance for these zones is available in communities participating in the NFIP.” Considering that last years season had one of the highest rain falls in Los Angeles, along with witnessing the water pouring down the street, I feel it is necessary to purchase Flood Insurance at this time. I know we have three suitcases with our essentials and a bag or two in the car with water, food and health care supplies. If anything it might help my children see items they had to leave behind. Each time I go to the store I pick up a jug of water.

At one of my children’s Elementary schools they hand out every other year a large plastic ziploc bag that has a printed label with the student’s name, address, room number, parent name and phone number. We were asked to include a letter or card to our child and a family photo. Families also need to have a disaster plan in place. Children need to know their phone numbers and addresses. For children that are under 2 or 3 and cannot speak this information, families should consider a label on the sneakers or inside the clothing somewhere to help identify the child. If there are relatives in other cities or States share their number with your children and discuss what each child would want to take along and make a list of these items. Have this list on the bulletin board or on refrigerator so the child can read through this when the time comes to evacuate.

The tips to remember are to review your insurance policies, update coverage and contents within the home and create a disaster plan for the family. Another step is to pack emergency supplies and important documents in a high storage section of the home and make an additional copy for relatives in another city or state. Consider purchasing a small portable television that takes batteries and make sure you have a portable radio with plenty of batteries. If you have a home phone line with the only phone being a cordless, head over to Radio Shack and get the old fashioned kind of phone.

In order to afford the insurance policies start packing a lunch a few times a week, wash your laundry in cold water once a week and avoid fast food for two weeks.