The 2009 hurricane season has officially begun and should serve as a reminder to coastal residents that preparation is essential in order to limit injuries and property damage from these violent and deadly storms. There is no time like the present to sit down with your family and prepare for the day when you may be forced to evacuate your home, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

“In the event of a sudden emergency such as a fire, tornado or other disaster, you may have just minutes to gather your family and important papers and get out of your house, possibly for good,” said Jeanne Salvatore, senior vice president and consumer spokesperson for the I.I.I. “With preparation and practice, you stand the best chance of getting out with what you and your family need and ending up in a safe place.”

The I.I.I. suggests the following five steps to help you and your family on the road to safety.  

1. Arrange Your Evacuation Ahead of Time

Identify where you can go in the event of an evacuation. Try to have more than one option: the home of a friend or family member in another town, a hotel or a shelter. If a family member has special needs, find a place where those needs will be met. If you have pets, identify a shelter where they will be welcome. Keep the phone numbers and addresses of these locations handy.

Map out your primary route as well as a backup route in case roads are blocked or impassable. Make sure you have a map of the area handy.

In case your family members are separated before or during the evacuation, identify a specific place to meet and ask an out-of-town friend or family member to act as a contact person.


2. Create a Home Inventory

Create a complete home inventory of your personal property. A home inventory will help ensure that you have purchased enough insurance to replace your possessions. It can also speed the claims process, and will substantiate losses for income tax purposes.

To make creating a home inventory easier, the I.I.I. provides free, online software: Know Your Stuff. The application allows you to inventory your home room by room, and prompts you to enter important information such as make, model, place of purchase etc. You can also store related documents, such as photos, receipts and appraisal forms.

Your home inventory is securely stored on Amazon Web Services, where only you can view it. As a result, if your home is destroyed in a hurricane or other disaster, your data will never be lost and you can access it from any where at any time.

3. Plan What to Take

You may be forced from your home for several days or even weeks. Be sure to take essential items such as medicines as well as “comfort items” such as children’s favorite toys or books. In the event of an evacuation, have the following items ready to take with you:

• Medicines, prescriptions and first aid kit
• Bottled water
• Clothing and bedding (sleeping bags, pillows)
• Flashlight, battery-powered radio and extra batteries
• Special items for infants or elderly or disabled family members
• Computer hard drive or laptop
• Photographs
• Pet food and other items for pets (litter boxes, leashes)
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4. Gather Important Documents

Keep important documents in a safe place that you can access easily. In the event of an evacuation take the following documents with you

• Insurance policies
• Birth and marriage certificates
• Passports
• Drivers license or personal identification
• Social Security cards
• Recent tax returns
• Employment information
• Wills, deeds and recent tax returns
• Stocks, bonds and other negotiable certificates
• Bank, savings and retirement account numbers
• Home inventory

5. Take the 10-Minute Challenge

Find out if you are ready to evacuate by doing a real-time test. Give yourself just 10 minutes to get your family and belongings into the car and on the road to safety. Practice your evacuation so that you can make adjustments where necessary. By planning ahead and practicing you should be able to gather your family members and pets, along with the most important items they will need, calmly and efficiently, with a minimum of stress and confusion.