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only publishing my interpretation of my situation. You should seek your
own legal representation for your own particular
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Hurricane Gustav has come and gone. I was in Montgomery
with family for the storm and just drove back down here
yesterday. The hurricane made landfall Monday west of Louisiana.
I stayed in Montgomery a couple of days longer in order for the
bad weather to roll on through and for the traffic to die down
from people returning to their homes. Luckily, I returned to a
home with no damage whatsoever. That is great! I do not have to
worry about repairs and all of the headaches and hassles that go
along with recovering from a natural disaster like a hurricane.
This incident did, however, remind me of Hurricane Ivan which
destroyed my house back in 2004 (only three months after I
bought and moved into the place). A lot can happen before,
during and after a natural disaster. This might be a good
occasion to discuss some of these things.
Let's assume that you
have warning and that you have time to prepare for a natural
disaster such as a hurricane which gives several days notice.
Better than that, let's go back even before you get notice - buy
insurance. Renters need renters insurance to cover all of their
personal belongings in their apartment or rental unit. If you
are not a renter, you will need insurance on your personal
belongings by some other means. Your vehicle needs insurance;
and it needs full coverage, not just liability insurance if you
want it replaced. If you have dependents, seriously consider
life insurance on yourself and your dependents. You need
insurance on your home (and there are a lot of insurance options
for homes - fire, wind, flood, vandalism, etc.). Of course, this
takes money; but the expenditure upfront can save you a great
deal of grief in the long run if you ever need to file a claim
(let's hope you never have to). Also, do not wait until the last
minute to get these insurance policies if you need them. Some
types of insurance, such as wind and flood insurance on your
home, might not be available if a storm is on its way. Even if
you write the check to the insurance company for a new policy,
they might not accept it until the storm has passed. That could
be an awful wait-and-see period. Don't get caught in that
situation. I did one time and plan on never doing it again.
Other than insurance, you
need to prepare for disasters as best as possible. Stock up on
supplies such as bottled water, batteries, flashlights, fire
alarms, non-perishable foods, canned foods. Some of these things
will have to be bought once a pending disaster has been
indentified. Others, like the flashlights and fire alarms, can
be bought ahead of time although they should be tested
frequently. Other materials might be used for protecting your
assets depending on what type of disaster you are preparing.
Hurricane shutters or even plywood to cover windows might be put
up for hurricane or tropical storms. Sandbags might be needed
for flooding. Carefully consider what you are defending and how
likely your defenses are to work before spending money and
effort on these things.
Are you going to be able
to stay at your home during this disaster? If not, how and where
will you find accommodations? Will you be needing a hotel room,
staying with friends or family, going to a shelter, sleeping in
your vehicle? And how long will you need these accommodations?
How much money will be needed for these situations? When
answering these questions, always pad your answers or plan for
the worst.
What will it take to
recover from your disaster? Sure, you may have insurance, but
you will still need money and/or credit to tide you over until
the insurance adjuster has filed your claim and you have cashed
your insurance check. That could take some time. Plan for this.
Will your job be available after the disaster? A lot of
businesses have to close before, during and after natural
disasters depending on the type and extent of devastation. This
could mean you will have no job to go back to. It takes time to
file for unemployment and for the unemployment checks to get to
you and you cash them. Plan for this, and plan for the worst.
When you are asking
yourself all of these questions, think about your answers
carefully and often. Re-evaluate your answers often as well.
Take my situation, for example. I got hit by Hurricane Ivan in
2004. My house and every house around me was destroyed. It took
about two years before any of us could like in those houses. The
whole time, we had to make mortgage payments, find somewhere
else to live, and lot of us had to find new jobs, we still had
to pay our condo fees, insurance. Insurance money did not come
quickly in many cases so a lot of us had to fall back on credit
cards and retirement money for living expenses. It is hard to
plan for all possible scenarios, but at least make an effort to
consider the possible scenarios. Plan as best you can. Spending
a little money now could save you a lot later on.
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