An earthquake that lasts only a few seconds or minutes may cause financial damage that takes years to repair. In collaboration with Councilmen Tom LaBonge and Mitchell Englander, the Emergency Management Department (EMD) Bulletin for this month explores insurance and financial preparedness information that can aid in recovery following a disaster.

Make a Financial “Go” Kit
Just as we build a disaster go kit of basic items before a disaster, we should also prepare a financial go kit of important documents such as:

  • Copies of identification.
  • Copies of insurance cards.
  • List of emergency contact numbers.
  • Pictures of valuable items in your home. These photos will be useful for filing insurance claims.
  • Pictures of household pets (for identification purposes).
  • Copies of medical records and important legal documents, including Power of Attorney for health care and financial matters.

Earthquake Insurance
Earthquake insurance in California is typically not part of your homeowner’s insurance policy. Instead, it is generally a separate policy you can purchase when buying homeowners insurance. All insurance companies that sell residential property insurance in California are required by law to offer earthquake insurance to homeowners when the policy is first sold, and then every two years thereafter. You may purchase a California Earthquake Authority (CEA) policy only through CEA’s participating insurers. A complete list is on the CEA website: http://www.earthquakeauthority.com/insurancepolicies/Pages/participatinginsurers.aspx

Tsunami Insurance
If you live in a tsunami zone, consider FEMA flood insurance as homeowners policy do not cover damage caused by flooding or tsunami. For more information, visit the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) website at: www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart. To learn what natural hazards exist in your area, visit the California Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Portal at: http://myhazards.calema.ca.gov/.

Recover Financially after a Federally Declared Disaster
Contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Small Business Administration, or other federal and state agencies to find out about financial assistance for your home, apartment, business or farm. Find out about financial assistance by visiting: www.fema.gov/apply-assistance

Additional Resources

  • California Earthquake Authority
  • Earthquake Country Alliance

EMD on the Web
Twitter http://twitter.com/readyla Facebook http://www.facebook.com/readyla
ReadyLA http://readyla.org/ Website http://emergency.lacity.org/index.htm

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