Planning for a natural disaster requires more than just making sure you have an escape route and a case of bottled water.  You need to realize the potential financial consequences of such events.  Here are few smart steps we recommend.

Make electronic backups of important records including:

• Insurance policies
• Tax returns
• Bank and credit card account information
• Vital records – medical, identification, etc.
• Pictures and/or videos of your home and/or business

It is critical that you store this backup in a separate location that will be easy to access if your area suffers damage.

If you own a business, develop a contingency plan to get your business up and running after a disaster including steps so that your employees can work from home or elsewhere. Both businesses and families should consider how to maintain contact in an emergency – via phone trees or other methods – and these contingency plans should be reviewed every year to make sure they are up-to-date.