Buttoned Up » Emergency Plans

Fire Safety Winners Announced!

Anne Marie — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:32:36 +0000

Thank you to all who left fire safety tips on our post; Fire Safety Tips Every Family Should Follow and on Facebook!

The two winners are:

Kelly Schulthies

and

Shelly Binion!

Join us in congratulating them on their win!

Stay safe!

Fire Safety Tips Every Family Should Follow; and WIN a $50 Bed Bath& Beyond Gift Card Giveaway!

Anne Marie — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:00:52 +0000

This contest is now closed. Winners were announced in this post

Do you know the best thing to do to protect your family from fire? This great video will help you make sure you are safe.

Contest!

WIN a $50 BedBath&Beyond Gift Card!

We know our readers have WONDERFUL ideas and want to hear from you!

What is your best tip for Fire Safety? What have you found that you can share with our readers to help keep them safe?

Two Winners!

Two people will each win one of two Bed Bath& Beyond $50 Gift Cards!

Interested? Just leave your tip below or on our Facebook Page.

Winner will be selected at random and announced on January 23 so give us your best fire safety tip!

Hurricane damage & insurance: what you need to know

Sarah — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:01:15 +0000

As those on the East Coast dig out from under the mess caused by Hurricane Irene, many will be reaching out to their insurance agents to discuss and make claims. We thought it might be helpful to outline the kind of damage that is typically covered by different insurance policies (home, car, flood).

What kind of storm damage is typically covered by homeowner’s insurance?

Typically, your homeowner’s insurance will cover the damage (less the deductible) to your house caused by fallen trees or limbs. It will also probably cover the cost of removing the damaged trees & limbs (up to $500 or $1,000 depending on your policy). And should your house be uninhabitable, it will also cover “reasonable living expenses” – just be sure to check with your insurance agent to see what is “reasonable” before booking your room at the Four Seasons.

A lot of communities experienced flooding caused by swollen rivers and tidal surges. If I experienced flooding in my basement or ground floor, is that covered by my homeowner’s insurance?

When it comes to water damage, insurance policy holders need to pay careful attention to the source of the damage. If your roof sustained wind damage and water leaked in because of that – it will be covered by your homeowner’s policy. Ditto if rain seeps into your house because of damaged or overwhelmed gutters and causes damage to the walls and/or ceilings .

However, any water that comes from flooding is not covered by standard homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policies. For that, you will need flood insurance provided by the Federal Government.

If I don’t currently have it, how do I apply for flood insurance so I am covered in the future?

Because floods are typically confined to a few geographic areas, fewer people apply for flood insurance and insurance companies lack a large enough base to cover their costs. In response to this, the federal government stepped in with the National Flood Insurance Program.

According to FloodSmart.gov

In 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to help provide a means for property owners to financially protect themselves in the event of a flood. The NFIP offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters, and business owners if their community participates in the NFIP.

Homeowners can also supplement the basic building insurance you get through the government. Companies like Allstate offer comprehensive contents coverage, which ensures items like your washer/dryer, carpet, and furniture are covered in the event of a flood.

What happens if a car was badly damaged – either by falling trees/debris or by water?

If your car was damaged by a falling tree or limb OR by the flooding, you should file a claim under the optional comprehensive portion of your auto policy as it will likely cover both.

Additional information & resources

Most insurance agencies have a wealth of information on their sites about the kind of coverage they offer and tools for helping you determine what you need. Here are links to the big four:
Allstate
State Farm
Geico
Progressive

In addition, I’d be remiss if I failed to point you in the direction of our Valuables.doc – a binder for cataloging the contents of your home. Every homeowner (and renter) should have one of these. It sounds overwhelming – but if you break it down like we have in this binder, going through the items in your home and cataloging them for insurance purposes is pretty painless.

How did you fare with Irene?

Get Ready for Hurricane Irene with this Free Printable

Sarah — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:19:27 +0000

Sometimes we all just need a kick in the pants to get ourselves prepared.

That’s why you should post this page to your Facebook page right now. If you’ve got a Twitter account, might as well make the commitment public there too!

To get a copy of the checklist for yourself, click here.

Rare East Coast earthquake rattles & reminds

Sarah — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:19:09 +0000

Our office in Tarrytown, NY must be made of strong stuff – we didn’t feel a thing when the waves of the 5.8 magnitude earthquake rolled through our region earlier today! We were lucky.

It just goes to show you that the only thing you can count on is that the unexpected will happen. An earthquake in VA? Highly improbable. And yet, today at around 1:50pm, an earthquake rattled buildings (and frayed a few nerves) up and down the East Coast.

The event reminded me of one of my all time favorite books: The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

The central thesis of the book is essentially that we cannot possibly predict with any certainty what is going to happen in life – not in the markets, not in politics, not in world events, not in our personal lives. In fact, trying to predict or model what’s going to happen only makes us more vulnerable to big, random events (the book calls them “black swans”) because said models lull us into thinking we’re safer than we really are.

I wholeheartedly agree with the premise.

In fact, when I first read the book back in 2008, I came away with a newfound appreciation for a concept that was actually behind the start of GetButtonedUp.com. Namely: expect the unexpected. Better to be prepared than caught unaware.

And prepared doesn’t mean perfect. It doesn’t mean anticipate every possibility. It simply means, in this case, know what your plan is in the event of an emergency – that, and have your important information (medical, insurance, etc.) at the ready. With a basic framework in place, you’ll be able to weather any storm.

In that spirit, if you have yet to get these things in order – go immediately (do not pass go, do not collect $200) and download this free printable designed to help you get your emergency plans in order, or read this article on emergency planning for procrastinators, and get your important information in order.

Just because random things happen doesn’t your life has to be thrown into chaos. Be prepared; get buttoned up.

Do you have an emergency plan? What is it? Does your family know you have a plan or is it all in your head?

We’re sending Snooki a Collision.kit

Sarah — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 02:20:08 +0000

In case you were busy being productive today, you might have missed the breaking news that Jersey Shore star Snooki crashed into her police escort outside Florence, Italy. No, she wasn’t drunk. Although she’s of Italian heritage, the gene for effortlessly zipping down the autostrada in a Fiat clearly wasn’t passed on to her.

Had she not been “lucky” enough to have a fender-bender with the police, who, according to the CNN story, took a very detailed report, she might have needed one of our Collision.kits.

What do you think, should we send her one when she returns home?

How about you, do you have any Snooki’s in your life that you should be arming with a Collision.kit?

Tool: Free Printable Emergency Checklist

Hollie — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:11:47 +0000

Putting together an emergency plan doesn’t have to take a long time.

Simply set aside 20-30 minutes each night this week to follow the steps in the checklist below. You’ll be amazed at what you can check off in such a short time—and you’ll be ready for any emergency life throws your way.

Click here to download

Japan’s warning: are you prepared?

Anne Marie — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 22:37:52 +0000

Japan’s warning: are you prepared?

Today the world awoke to the news that the largest ever earthquake (8.9 on the Richter scale) had hit Japan. A huge Tsunami followed quickly after, devastating low-lying areas in Japan and threatening homes as far away as Hawaii and Northern California.

A tragedy a world away reminds us that we are all vulnerable to natural disasters.

Here in the US, we have faced record rainfall and flooding and huge snowstorms this year. With hurricane and tornado season just around the corner, now is the perfect time to take a quick look at your own emergency preparedness and go over the most important items you will need in case disaster strikes.

Emergency Plan:

To really be ready for an emergency you need to design an emergency plan and then communicate that plan to family. Elements of an emergency plan are: who to contact in and out of state; where to meet at home or away from home (like when disaster hits during school hours). And practice your home’s escape routes. Here’s our free downloadable Emergency Plan checklist to make it even easier for you: http://getbuttonedup.com/2010/09/tool-free-printable-emergency-checklist/

Emergency Kit:

Every family should have an emergency kit. Imagine running from your home with only the clothes on your back. Now imagine what you would want in your emergency kit to survive for a couple of days to one week. Be sure your kit contains the basics (water, first aid kit, cash, food, batteries) but also room for your Life.doc; important papers/photos and digital images on a thumb drive, extra medications and glasses; pet and baby supplies. For more information, visit www.ready.gov for a full emergency kit checklist.

Life.doc:

If you had to evacuate your home, would you be able to quickly locate important information, like insurance information, important legal documents, and medical records so that you could take them with you? If you answered no, take a few minutes in the next few days to organize a binder, like the Life.doc (http://getbuttonedup.com/our-products/all-products/life-doc/) with your most important information.

Evacuation:

Most cities have evacuation routes already mapped out. But do you know what they are? Do you know of alternative routes in case those roads are closed? It is important to have this figured out well in advance and have maps in all your vehicles. A gassed up car and water/food in the car is also essential! We all remember the road jams when Houston last evacuated for a hurricane!

Others:

Don’t forget to check on your neighbors, especially the ill or elderly. They may need your help to get to a safe place or to just check their home after a disaster to make sure all is well. Know where the shelters are in your area and the best way to get there! Assist your neighbor in creating their emergency plan and kit. Be a part of it if it is clear they cannot do it alone.
A disaster can happen at any time. Be ready for it.

Are you ready? What would you put in your Emergency Kit? Who in your neighborhood would need your help? Have you planned in helping them along with your family? Do you have any preparedness tips or ideas to share? Let us know!

Get Organized for an Emergency: 5 Tips To Get Your Home Insurance Buttoned Up!

Sarah — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:00:28 +0000

Homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance is a necessity; it covers you for unexpected occurrences ranging from robberies to fires.

However, when it comes to assessing whether or not you have adequate coverage, the devil is in the details. For example, did you know that the majority of these plans do not cover floods or earthquakes or that some cover fire damage but not wildfire damage? With more and more extreme cases of weather and natural disasters, it is more important than ever to review your coverage and be certain that you have the best level of protection you can get given your budget constraints.

Here are 5 tips for getting your home insurance organized.

1. Watch What You Claim

Did you know that if you keep making small claims over and over, you may exhaust your insurance funds more quickly than you anticipated or be dropped from the plan? It may also cause your premiums significantly increase, in which case paying for that roof repair out of your pocket may be smarter financially. Look carefully at your plan before you make a claim or talk to your agent to find out all of the nitty gritty details on small claims and their effect on your coverage.

2. Take Inventory

Do you know exactly what is in your home? First of all, write down from memory everything of value in your living room from electronics to DVDs. Now take that list to the living room. Did you remember it all? Now imagine doing that for your entire home after a fire rips through your home. Everyone has valuables; they are so much more than just artwork or televisions. Think about your CD’s, iPods, clothing, outerwear, golf clubs, Corningware, picture frames. They are all valuable and worth something. Get organized and go through your home and take an inventory of everything in your house room by room. Take photos, keep the proofs of purchase for anything in your home over $200, get appraisals done on all luxury items like jewelry, and keep it all in an easy to grab binder that you can take with you at a moment’s notice. The other reason this step is important is you may find that you are carrying insurance for $25,000 worth of goods in your home, but actually have close to $50,000 worth of items in the house. You can also hire an insurance appraiser to go through your home after you take inventory if you would like. At the bare minimum, however, having the inventory log of the valuables in your home will get you a lot more in reimbursement if the worst does occur.

3. Determine Exactly What IS Covered

Insurance packets and their corresponding websites are not written for the layperson. They can be highly confusing, full of legal mumbo-jumbo, and contain asterisked scenarios such as “If your home is damaged in a fire you are covered for X amount of dollars.”* The small print under the asterisk then clarifies along the lines of *Note: Unless you own a red car, a monkey, or have ever eaten at Dale’s Deli.” These papers can be overwhelming, so schedule an appointment with your agent and discuss the ins and outs of your current coverage. To make the conversation easier, bring your valuables binder to talk about your home inventory, and discuss events that aren’t covered by your current plan, like sewage, hurricane, flood, earthquake, etc.

4. Equip and Prepare

Owning Insurance is one piece of the puzzle, but you can also take insurance into your own hands with proper emergency planning and preparation. For example, if you live in an area that has frequent wildfires, you should clear the brush around your property on a regular basis. You may also want to consider applying a coat or two of fire deterrent paint. If you live in a hurricane prone area, do you have proper roofing reinforcements and windows installed? Even if you don’t live in an area with extreme weather, simply having an alarm system means fire departments will be quickly alerted of flames and police of burglaries. These safety defenses also have an added bonus: they can lower your insurance rates dramatically.

5. Have an Insurance Assessor on Deck:

Keep the contact information of a trusted insurance assessor who is not affiliated with your insurance provider in your valuables inventory log. If you ever need to file a claim, have that third party assess your damage immediately. Cover your bases and fight back by having another professional document the claim and cost so you get what you rightfully deserve. Your home is your safe haven, your livelihood. You should do everything you can to protect those assets by planning ahead

Taking Action To Be Ready

Anne Marie — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:00:40 +0000

Taking Action To Be Ready

By Darryl J. Madden, Director, Ready Campaign

Do you have emergency supplies set aside in case there’s a disaster? Does your family have an emergency plan? For many people, planning for an emergency or disaster isn’t a priority.

According to the 2009 Citizen Corps National Survey, only 36 percent of individuals believed there was a high likelihood of a natural disaster to EVER happen in their community. Many people think they have everything they need in the event of an emergency at hand, and can simply “grab and go.”

You are your family’s first responder, and in many ways you are your neighbor’s first responder. All of us as participants in our communities and members of our families need to take concrete steps to proactively prepare for emergencies and disasters. Local, state, and national authorities are going to help, but they may not be able to get to you right away. We all need to be prepared for those first 72 hours before help can reach us.

September is National Preparedness Month (NPM)- the perfect time to take action and get your family Ready. Readiness comes in many forms and preparedness is everyone’s responsibility. We have to work together. As a team, to ensure that our families, neighborhoods, and communities are Ready. Get an emergency supply kit. Make a family emergency plan. Be informed about the risks in your area. Work with your neighbor and know who might need just a little extra help.

To help get your family started, Ready Kids is a family-friendly, children-oriented tool to help parents and teachers educate children, ages 8-12, about emergencies and how they can ehlp families better prepare. The Ready Kids website at ready.gov features fun activities such as a Scavenger Hunt, Pack It Up Matching game, crossword puzzles and coloring pages, as well as age-appropriate, step-by-step instructions on what families can do to better prepare for emergencies and the rold kids can play in that effort.

It’s important to explain to yoru children that families can prepare for emerginecies before they take place and that they can help too. By doing so, you can alleviate anxiety if an emergency does occur and help to nurture a more prepared society for generations to come. Visit ready.gov/kids today and get Ready!