What True Preparedness Looks Like

There’s more to being prepared for a hurricane, snowstorm, tornado or other severe weather event than making sure there’s plenty of water, milk and bread in the house. True preparedness for an emergency requires protecting both your physical well-being and your financial health — before any kind of storm makes landfall.

September is National Preparedness Month, a great time to share important tips with your employees. Here we’ll address some of the obvious and not-so-obvious ways to be ready for a potentially disruptive event.

Start With Storm Readiness

When a big storm threatens your community, time is of the essence. For hurricanes, for example, be aware of the projected path and strength and make the decision to evacuate or ride out the storm. Either way, a thorough disaster plan begins with securing your home. Board up windows and put your vehicles in the garage. Bring in anything that could be a projectile in a storm — outdoor furniture, grills, gnomes, potted plants and even firewood.

If you plan to ride out a critical event, like a snowstorm, be prepared to live self-sufficiently for three to seven days. You don’t know if you’ll lose power or access to clean tap water. Assemble an emergency kit that includes:

• Water, at least 1 gallon per person per day
• Nonperishable food and a manual can opener
• Medications and first-aid supplies
• Pet food and supplies
• Flashlights
• Gas for a generator, if you have one
• Fully charged cell phones and car chargers
• Toiletries
• Cleaning supplies
• Cash, in case ATMs are unavailable during power loss
• A portable power bank

Keep Documents in a Safe Place

While physical gear keeps your family safe during a storm or fire, organizing your insurance information is critical for long-term recovery. In the chaotic aftermath of an emergency, you’ll want immediate access to health and dental insurance cards, policy details and your medical history to ensure seamless access to health care and prescription medications.

Likewise, keep your life, disability, and paid family and medical leave insurance policy numbers, beneficiary details, and insurer contacts neatly documented. This will help protect your family's financial safety when you need it the most. Even if you’ve never used it before, your Employee Assistance Program phone number may be useful to cope with the aftereffects of a storm. Finally, keep your homeowner’s and auto insurance policies and claim submission information handy to help with any damage from the storm.

Access to both paper and digital versions of important documents ensures that critical information is easy to get to, whether you evacuate or stay at home. Gather paper copies of insurance papers, personal identification, medical records and property deeds into a portable, heavy-duty waterproof and fireproof document bag. Create digital copies of the same documents by scanning your insurance cards, policy pages, medical records and identification. Store them in a password-protected cloud storage folder or on an encrypted flash drive.

Having both paper and digital access ensures that whether you’re forced to evacuate on short notice or face prolonged power outages, your critical information remains accessible.

Prepare for the Unexpected

Ultimately, preparedness is about minimizing risks and regaining control at an unpredictable time. Emergency supplies might keep you safe during the storm, but organized insurance records protect your recovery in the days, weeks and months that follow.

National Preparedness Month is also a good time for your employees to confirm their beneficiary information and evaluate whether their life and disability coverage fits their family's needs. Your employees can download forms for life, disability, paid family and medical leave, absence, dental, vision and supplemental medical (accident, cancer, critical illness and hospital indemnity) claims.