Household Disaster Plans Should Include Escape Route and Financial Recovery

There’s no shortage of warnings to California homeowners about the dangers of wildfires. From the statements of fire officials to the sight of flames nipping at Southern California neighborhoods this week, homeowners have seen and heard warnings to Be Prepared.

But the question is: What is “prepared”?

“To truly protect your family against wildfires or any catastrophe, homeowners must prepare both physically and financially,” said Candysse Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California. “Like guarding your car against theft, layers of protection will increase your home’s chances of surviving wildfire season.”

Household disaster preparation falls into two broad categories: The physical preparation of defensible space, fire safe landscaping, a household evacuation plan and community involvement in fire planning, and financial preparation focusing on maintaining a current household inventory, updating insurance policies and keeping copies of critical documents stored away from the home.

PHYSICAL PREPARATION:

• Create a defensible space around your home by replacing tall shrubs with low-growing succulents and other fire-resistant plants in the areas closest to your home. Trim trees to make sure they don’t create a “fire ladder” to your roof. If your home is located on a slope, you may need to expand the fire-defense area around your home. A chart that helps calculate slope-to-defensible space is available as a PDF download on the IINC web site at www.iinc.org.
• Create and practice a household evacuation plan, including a predetermined meeting location and an out-of-area phone number to call into, such as an out-of-town relative, in case local phone service is interrupted.
• Home improvement projects to guard your house against fire can be as simple as covering exterior vent and eave openings and chimneys with non-combustible screen. A brochure by the Institute for Business and Home Safety outlining fire-safe home improvement projects is also available as a free download from the IINC web site www.iinc.org.
• Homeowners in communities at greatest risk of wildfire are also encouraged to join or form Fire Safe Councils, which bring the public and private sectors together to protect their communities from wildfire.
  

FINANCIAL PREPARATION

• If you have not updated your policy to reflect new purchases or home upgrades, the limits of your insurance contracts may not reflect your true insurance needs. Consult your insurance company or agent to verify that your policy has kept pace with both your possessions as well as with the current cost of rebuilding in your area.

• Create and maintain an inventory of household possessions and keep a copy of it and your insurance policy in a safe location away from your home, such as a safe deposit box. A free home inventory guide is also available as a PDF download on the IINC web site at www.iinc.org.

  More than half of California’s 12.5 million homes face wildfire dangers that pose a financial loss potential well in excess of $106 billion, according to state fire statistics.

  California Department of Forestry research indicates that more than 7.2 million California homes are categorized in the three highest fire risk levels -- more than 6 million of which are located in urban areas.

  “More homes are susceptible to wildfires than homeowners realize,” Miller said. “We know the importance of preparing our properties by clearing a defensible space, but homeowners should also protect their investment by keeping a close watch on their changing insurance needs.”

  IINC is a non-profit, non-lobbying insurance trade association dedicated to helping consumers understand insurance and safety issues.