March 29, 2024

Bucks Blog: Tips for Disaster Planning

The aftermath of the Joplin, Mo., tornado in May 2011.Associated PressThe aftermath of the Joplin, Mo., tornado in May 2011.

An article in this week’s Your Money special section takes a look on what residents in Joplin, Missouri learned about disaster-proofing your financial life, from the tornado that devastated their community in May 2011.

Many of the lessons sound simple. Renter’s insurance is a good idea. So is a fireproof box containing important documents and some cash. Prepare a list of your medications and specific dosages, so you can replace them.

To that list, I can add a few of my own. As a journalist, I’ve covered natural disasters, but was never directly affected by one until an ice storm struck my town in January 2009. It can’t compare to the Joplin tornado or Hurricane Sandy, but the ice storm knocked out power for days. My husband was traveling so I was alone with our two young children. I huddled with them under blankets, trying to stay warm while persuading them that we were playing Laura Ingalls Wilder in her book,  “The Long Winter.” We cringed at the shotgun-like sound of branches snapping from the weight of the ice. Tree limbs crashed through our roof and through a large plate glass window, terrifying the children and letting in the icy cold.

Here are a few lessons I learned.

1. It helps to have good neighbors. Although we had just moved into our home weeks earlier, neighbors showed up with a tarp to cover our shattered window and offered temporary lodging.

2. Spend money to stock up on nonperishable food items. When bad weather was initially forecast, I thought, “snow” — and loaded up the refrigerator, on the theory that I didn’t want to drive in a blizzard. Turns out that ice storms are much worse than plain old snow when it comes to downed power lines. Most of that food spoiled.

4. File your insurance claim as soon as you can and take digital pictures of the damage. I recall that our claim for repair of our roof and windows was handled promptly and fairly, but having the photos helped.

5. If it’s safe to leave and you can afford temporary quarters, don’t try to tough it out. When it became clear that the situation was going to drag on, we bailed and drove (very, very slowly) to a hotel that had power. A warm bed and a hot breakfast did wonders for our spirits.

What are your emergency tips, whether from Hurricane Sandy or some other natural disaster?

Article source: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/tips-for-disaster-planning/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Bucks: Don’t Forget the Cable Box in a Disaster

Picking through debris after a tornado in Pleasant Grove, Ala.Butch Dill/Associated PressPicking through debris after a tornado in Pleasant Grove, Ala.

Many readers made thoughtful comments in response to my post earlier this week, asking what they would take if they had to leave their home quickly in a disaster. Children, pets and sentimental keepsakes topped their lists, along with wallets and credit cards. No one talked about grabbing the cable television box. But apparently, that may be a good idea.

The Consumerist reported Monday that the cable provider Charter Communications initially played hardball with some victims of the tornadoes that devastated parts of Alabama in April, telling them they would have to return their cable boxes or pay possible late fees or even replacement charges. The company then relented and said it wouldn’t charge customers for lost or destroyed boxes.

A Charter spokeswoman didn’t return Bucks’s call seeking comment, but the company did provide an explanation that The Consumerist posted Wednesday, stating: “Some customers who called into our customer care centers immediately following the storm were unfortunately given direction on our equipment policy that did not fit the magnitude of the storm. Given the catastrophic circumstances throughout the state, we adjusted our policy, waiving fees for equipment that was lost, damaged or destroyed during the tornado. This was the right thing to do for our customers, and no equipment fees were collected from customers who contacted us before the policy was adjusted.”

Another cable company, Bright House Networks, told a Birmingham, Ala. newspaper that it typically expected customers to file an insurance claim on its behalf for equipment that was lost or destroyed. But a Bright House spokeswoman told Bucks that it had modified that policy in Alabama. “Bright House Networks will not charge customers for equipment damaged or lost as a result of the storm,” a spokeswoman, Lorelie Johnson, said in an e-mail. She also said the company had “proactively” credited the accounts of customers who lost service due to the storms, and sent representatives to walk damaged areas to identify destroyed homes so billing could be suspended. She added that many of the company’s own employees had had to “deal with complete devastation to their homes and properties.”

Both companies also noted that they had made donations to local relief efforts.

Have you had to deal with cable or other service providers after a fire or other disaster at your home? What was your experience?

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=1491305a284b988a0e78025f4fb2ac07