commercial insurance

3 Ways to Winterize Your Business

Posted on by Shield Insurance Agency

3 ways to winterize your business

For business owners, Jack Frost can nip at more than your nose. If you don’t winterize, bitter winter temperatures can cause damages that will take a chunk out of your bottom line.

But a few preventative steps can keep your business winterized and safe from the dangers posed by the cold, ice, and snow.

1. Keep the water flowing during winter.

Frozen pipes can burst, causing major damage to any business location. Prevent this from happening by winterizing:

  • Keeping your thermostats set at a minimum of 55°F when the building is empty.
  • During especially cold winter situations, running a small trickle of water through your faucets to help keep pipes from freezing.
  • Exposing pipes to warmer temperatures by keeping cabinet and utility room doors open.
  • Making sure all pipes in difficult-to-access areas—such as crawlspaces, exterior walls, or attics—are insulated. Hardware or big box stores have foam and fiberglass insulation. The more insulated, the better!
  • For unheated sprinkler control valve/fire pump rooms, using UL-approved gas or electric unit heaters to help keep temperatures warm.
  • Installing a monitored electric leak detection system for the main domestic water line along with monitored electronic sensors near water sources to help you discover leaks before they cause significant damage.

2. Keep your heating bills in check.

Maintain an efficient furnace and keep energy costs under control with a few simple steps to winterize:

  • Use a programmable thermostat to reduce heating costs by as much as 30%. During low-occupancy hours, set the thermostat several degrees lower for significant savings.
  • Check your heating ducts to see if the insulation should be replaced. Inadequate insulation could lead to higher energy bills.
  • Install energy-efficient glaze on windows and doors. Save money on your energy bills by replacing the existing glass with low-emissivity glass designed to prevent heat from escaping. As much as 20% of a facility’s heat is lost through windows and doors.
  • Clogged, dirty air filters can restrict airflow and increase your energy demands. Replace or clean your furnace filters regularly to keep your heating system efficient.
  • Alter your ceiling fans so they rotate in a clockwise direction, which can actually reduce heating costs by forcing warm air near the ceiling lower and warming the room.

3. Keep a roof over your head.

Your roof can take the brunt of winter’s force, whether it’s bitter cold, snow, or ice. Keep it in tip-top shape by keeping it winterized:

  • Clearing your roof of all debris, dirt, and leaves, which can block gutters and downspouts, preventing snowmelt from properly draining away from the building. It can also cause ice dams and heavy snow buildup on your roof, which can cause additional damage.
  • Inspect gutters and downspouts to see how securely they’re fastened to the building. Snow and ice can cause gutters to weaken and break away from the building, allowing water to seep into the wrong areas.
  • If a winter storm occurs, plan to have a professional snow removal service clear the roof of excess-accumulation. This will prevent excessive loads on the roof and eliminate the possibility of structural failure.

Talk to your local independent Shield agent for complete details on our business coverage. This article is for information purposes only. For specific coverage details, always refer to your policy. If the policy coverage descriptions in this article conflict with the language in the policy, the language in the policy apply.

References:
– Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)
– Smallbiztrends.com

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BOP Can Protect Your Company Assets and Save You Money

Posted on by Shield Insurance Agency

BOP: Business Owners Policy

By buying business insurance, you take a big step to secure your finances and create a strong risk management strategy. After all, you never know when a single incident like a fire or break-in could devastate your business and cost you a fortune.

One of the simplest ways to put together a strong business insurance portfolio is to start your coverage with a business owner’s policy, better known as a BOP. It’s a great way to not only get strong coverage but also to save money on your benefits. Consider just a few of the extensive property benefits that a BOP can provide with just a few simple steps.

Why BOPs are Customizable

BOPs generally offer several standard types of commercial insurance in one place. These are:

  • Property insurance to cover your company’s owned assets, including equipment and inventory.
  • Liability coverage that pays for third-party injuries or property damage that are your fault.
  • Business interruption insurance will offer you coverage for lost income or overhead costs that continue to burden you even if you have to temporarily halt your work.

However, just because BOPs will offer you standardized coverage, that doesn’t mean they are not customizable. This is particularly beneficial when it comes to your company property. After all, no two businesses are alike. That’s why the belongings you seek to insure are going to vary considerably, and you’ll want your BOP to be able to address them.

Within your BOP’s property insurance, you might be able to insure:

  • Your inventory and the materials used to make products if you manufacture them on-site.
  • Marketing materials.
  • Company equipment. These items might be anything that you use to manufacture products.
  • Furnishings such as shelving or storage cabinets, break-room appliances, chairs, desks, or decorative items.
  • Electronic items such as computers, printers, company mobile devices, or tablets.
  • Signage (both indoors and outdoors)

Of course, if you own the buildings that house your business, then your BOP can also insure the structure of the property itself. However, if you rent the property, then you usually don’t have any obligation to buy coverage.

However, it is important to remember that all BOPs will include exclusions and limits to what they will pay for certain losses. For example, your policy won’t pay for normal wear & tear, nor will it cover any damage that costs less than the deductible on your coverage. Another common exclusion is a limitation on what your policy will pay for outdoor signage.

Still, you can work with your independent insurance agent to determine exactly how to tailor your BOP’s property coverage to your benefit. There are various coverage endorsements available which might be precisely the benefits you need for your company assets.

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How to build a fleet safety program

Posted on by Shield Insurance Agency

How many vehicles in your fleet?

When you have employees driving on behalf of your business — whether or not they use a company vehicle — it’s time to take a closer look at your risk exposure and establish a fleet safety program to help protect the wellbeing of your company and your employees.

Here are five best practices for creating a risk management program for fleet vehicles:

1. Start at the top and write it down.

The best way to ensure your fleet safety program is successful is by having leadership commit to supporting it as a critical part of your company’s risk management and fleet management programs. Then, after setting expectations among your leadership, write down a formal plan with clear policies and procedures for fleet safety.

2. Identify and screen your drivers.

Safe drivers are an essential part of a fleet safety program — and you may have more drivers than you realize. Your fleet program can include company-owned, private, or rented vehicles. While businesses are generally aware of their risk exposure with company-owned vehicles, many don’t know the full extent of their risk exposure from non-owned vehicles. Keep a record of everyone who currently is or will be driving on behalf of your business, whether they use a company-owned, personal, or rented vehicle.

For those employees using their own personal vehicles for business purposes, it’s important to hold them to the same fleet screening standards as those employees operating company-owned vehicles. You also may need to add coverage to your commercial auto insurance, which could help your business recover in case an accident results in a business liability event for your company, which could impact both your finances and your reputation.

When hiring, carefully screen your drivers. Check the job applicant’s Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) to view past driving trends, which can help provide insight into future driving behaviors. An MVR typically shows a person’s driving history from the past three years, including driver’s license information, point history, violations, convictions, and license status.

For many companies, a driver is considered unacceptable when the MVR shows:

  • More than three moving violations, accidents or both
  • Driving while intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics
  • License suspension and any serious violation such as reckless driving, endangering the lives of others, and racing

By pre-screening drivers as part of your standard hiring practices, you’ll empower your fleet safety program, making it more reliable, effective, and safer.

3. Train and manage your drivers.

Require all of your fleet drivers to learn and commit to the company’s fleet safety policies and procedures. Additionally, provide training and resources on defensive driving and other safe driving techniques. For example, there are many forms of distracted driving including talking on the phone, texting, eating, daydreaming, and other things that take the driver’s attention away from driving.

It is also essential to continue to manage your drivers to help ensure they are following your fleet safety rules and driving safely. Schedule time to check the MVR of your drivers and have a plan in place for handling drivers with marginal or poor driving records.

You may also want to consider using fleet telematics to further strengthen your overall fleet safety program. Telematics is a technology that can track and monitor a variety of driver and vehicle parameters. Some examples include a vehicle’s speed, fuel consumption, harsh braking, and other driving behaviors.

4. Have a formal preventive maintenance program and secure your vehicles.

Make sure all vehicles are safe to drive by having each of them on a formal preventive maintenance program. This includes routine oil changes, vehicle inspections, making repairs, and keeping vehicle records. It’s also important to ensure that all vehicles are being secured to minimize any losses related to theft or vandalism while the vehicle isn’t being used.

5. Review accidents and consult your Risk Control specialist.

Take time to review accidents involving your company’s fleet vehicles to help you pinpoint your risk exposures, identify trends, manage accident costs, and take action to avoid future accidents.

Additionally, ask your independent insurance agent about loss and risk control services that may be available to you through your commercial insurance provider. Some insurance companies, including Grange Insurance, offer Risk Control Services to their commercial insurance customers, providing expert risk management services including formalized safety programs, training and help identifying, analyzing and addressing business’s unique risks.

This article is for informational and suggestion purposes only. If the policy coverage descriptions in this article conflict with the language in the policy, the language in the policy applies.

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Healthcare Insurance Coverage for Business 2021

Posted on by Shield Insurance Agency

The pandemic has made everyone acutely aware of the need for healthcare Insurance coverage. Small businesses struggling to survive are challenged to find ways to offer health coverage as a fringe benefit to employees. Premium costs are high.

Nonetheless, there are several ways in which small employers can help employees get coverage for the upcoming year.

5 Things to Know About Healthcare Insurance Coverage in 2021

Don’t wait until the last minute to explore your options. Here are 5 things to keep in mind.

1. Coverage Requirements for ALEs

If you have at least 50 full-time and full-time equivalent employees, you are an Applicable Large Employer (ALE) subject to the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act. This means you must offer minimum essential health coverage that’s affordable to your full-time employees or pay a penalty. What’s affordable Healthcare Insurance? The IRS has released this information for 2021. The cost to employees can’t be more than 9.83% of household income in 2021.

2. HSAs

Health savings accounts (HSAs) allow individuals to cover their out-of-pocket costs. But to make contributions—whether by employers or employees—to such accounts, individuals must be covered by a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). For 2021, this means insurance with a minimum deductible of $1,400 for self-only coverage or $2,800 for family coverage and a cap on out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts other than premiums) not exceeding $7,000 for self-only coverage or $14,000 for family coverage.

If you have group insurance that is an HDHP, then you can decide whether to contribute to employees’ HSAs. If not, then employees can choose to make deductible contributions to their accounts for 2021. More information about HSAs is in IRS Publication 969.

3. HRA Options

Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) facilitate tax-free reimbursements to employees. While the business can deduct these reimbursements, they aren’t subject to employment taxes. For 2021, consider these HRA options:

  • Qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangements (QSEHRAs). These plans reimburse employees for premiums on their individually-obtained coverage up to a set dollar limit ($5,250 for self-only coverage or $10,600 for family coverage in 2020).
  • Individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs). These plans also reimburse employees for their premiums on individually-obtained health coverage. The law doesn’t cap the reimbursement; it’s up to the employer to fix this amount (on a nondiscriminatory basis).
  • Excepted benefit health reimbursement arrangements (EBHRAs). These plans help pay for certain benefits, such as dental or vision care, not otherwise covered by a general insurance policy. Reimbursement is capped up to a set dollar amount. The cap for 2021 has not yet been announced (it was $1,800 for 2020).

More information about HRAs is also in IRS Publication 969.

4. Premium-only Cafeteria Plans

If you don’t provide a Healthcare Insurance plan or do have a plan (including an HRA) but you don’t pay all of the cost, you can enable employees to pay all or the balance of premiums on a pre-tax basis. The plan must offer employees a choice between cash or reimbursement for health insurance coverage. If they choose the coverage, the amount of what they’d pay for premiums that are withheld from their paycheck is not treated as taxable compensation to them. There are no employment taxes on this benefit. If, however, they choose the cash option, it’s taxable compensation.

5. Notice Requirements

Employers offering a Healthcare Insurance plan are required to give notice to employees about their participation and what’s involved. Depending on the plan, notice may include providing a summary plan document.

Generally, notice is required to be given 90 days before the start of the plan year. So, if the plan year starts on January 1, 2021, notice must be given by October 3, 2020.

Conclusion

Health Care for the Latino population with Shield Insurance Agency

Start shopping now for Healthcare Insurance. Contact the Shield Agency expert Carlos Garcia or another tax advisor to find ways to make this benefit available to employees without busting your budget. And be sure that whichever option you use that you do so in compliance with the law.

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Business Insurance Premium Audit Explained

Posted on by Shield Insurance Agency

Shield Insurance Blog | Business Insurance |

What is a premium audit for business insurance?

To begin to understand what a Business Insurance Premium Audit is and why it’s important, let’s take a walk down memory lane.

When you first set up your commercial insurance policy or the last time you completed a business insurance review with your agent, you may remember your agent asking you to predict certain things your business might experience in the coming year, such as the makeup of your workforce or annual revenue.

This prediction or estimate is an important part of the process to insure your business. It helps set a price, or premium cost, for your commercial insurance policy so you are paying an adequate amount for your business’s unique needs.

Later on, your insurance company, in conjunction with TJ, your agent at Shield, will check how close the prediction was to the business you actually had for that policy year. This is a premium audit. A premium audit is performed regularly by your insurance company to determine the correct premium (i.e. cost) for your business insurance.

Why does business insurance have premium audits?

Unlike personal insurance policies for a car or home, which have more stable and predictable changes in property value and risks, a business is very dynamic. Its income, operations, and risk levels can change all the time, and sometimes in unpredictable ways.

Commercial insurance can cover a business’s physical location and property as well as its liability. Physical location and property can be more predictable to insure. However, business liability tends to be impacted by a business’s growth or shrinking, which is more unpredictable. As a business grows or shrinks, it increases or decreases the chances that the business could be liable to others.

This means that parts of your commercial insurance policy are built to change with the ebbs and flows of your business.

How does a premium audit affect my insurance costs?

During a premium audit, if your business grew more than the amount estimated, the resulting increase in things like sales and payroll means your insurance premium will likely increase.

The same is true in reverse. If your business saw a reduction in business from the policy estimate, you will likely see a reduction in your premium cost.

When an insurance company performs a premium audit, it is looking for accuracy — for both the insured business and the insurance company.

Here’s why: The insurance company needs accurate information to determine things like claims reserve calculations and ratemaking. When the insurance company collects accurate data from its commercial policyholders, it leads to a more financially sound insurance company.

Accurate data also leads to a fundamentally more sound insurance system overall since the premium data collected by insurance companies is reported to the Insurance Services Office (ISO), the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), and state government entities, who then use the data to provide guidance, rules and regulations back to insurance companies.

Your data is an important part of the whole commercial insurance system!

How can my business prepare for a premium audit?

Keeping organized business records is the best way to be ready for a review of your business insurance. When properly kept and provided to the auditor, these records can help keep your insurance cost in line with your actual business needs and may even allow you to take advantage of exclusions or lower rates.

The following bookkeeping practices can help you prepare:

  • Payroll records – Track and show actual payroll by type of work for each employee and business owner. Track overtime, severance and other payroll items.
  • Subcontractor records – Use insured subcontractors when possible. Request and keep a copy of their Certificates of Insurance. Track and show payments by type of work.
  • Sales records (e.g., income statements) – Track and show sales by product. Track sales by customer, returns and other sales items.

You can also speak with your independent insurance agent commercial business specialist, TJ Simmons, to learn more about the premium audit, how it may affect your premium cost and steps you can take now to prepare for it.

This article is for informational and suggestion purposes only. If the policy coverage descriptions in this article conflict with the language in the policy, the language in the policy apply.

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Auto No-Fault Legislation signed by Gov. Whitmer

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Shield Insurance Blog | Auto No-Fault Legislation | Start a Quote Today!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

May 30, 2019  

Gov. Whitmer Signs Historic Bipartisan Auto No-Fault Legislation  

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. — Today Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 1, auto-no-fault-legislation, which passed with overwhelming Senate Bill 1, to reform Michigan’s auto insurance system to guarantee lower rates for every Michigan driver, protect insurance coverage options, and strengthen consumer protections.  

“By signing this legislation, we are providing relief to millions of drivers across the state and guaranteeing a better auto insurance system for everyone,” Whitmer said. “This historic deal shows that, when we put party aside, we can find common ground on our state’s toughest issues to provide realistic and affordable coverage options for drivers across Michigan.” 

Senate Bill 1 reforms a broken auto insurance system and offers historic protections for drivers across our state. The bill, negotiated by Governor Whitmer with legislative leaders, will save drivers money by: 

  • Guaranteeing lower rates for drivers for eight years;   
  • Protecting people’s choice to pick their own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) options with coinciding PIP rate reductions, offering unlimited coverage (10% PIP reduction), $500K coverage (20% PIP reduction), $250K coverage (35% PIP reduction), $50K coverage for Medicaid eligible recipients (45% PIP reduction), or a complete opt out for seniors or anyone with sufficient private insurance (100% PIP reduction). 
  • Increasing consumer protections by banning companies from using non-driving factors, such as ZIP code, FICO score, gender, marital status, occupation, education attainment, and homeownership, to set rates. 
  • Setting fee schedules for hospitals and providers to prevent overcharging for auto-related injuries.  

“I am proud to have worked alongside Senate Majority Leader Shirkey, Senate Democratic Leader Ananich, Speaker of the House Chatfield, House Democratic Leader Greig, and all members of the legislature to solve a problem that has been hurting Michigan families for far too long. We still have more important work ahead of us, and I have no doubt that we can seize on this momentum to pass a strong, bipartisan budget that fixes the damn roads.”  

Senate Bill 1, auto-no-fault-legislation, sponsored by Senator Aric Nesbitt (SD-26), will be filed next week with the Office of the Great Seal and take effect at that time. 

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Insurance Terms Important to Know - Shield Insurance Agency Blog

Common Insurance Terms Made Easy

Posted on by Shield Insurance Agency

Insurance can be confusing…we get it! But we’re here to help provide you with a better insurance experience. Learn more about what these common insurance terms mean so you can be prepared when looking for a policy.

For customer information or to get a quote, please visit our website at www.ShieldAgency.com .

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New Year: Foresight in 2020

Posted on by Shield Insurance Agency

They say, “Hindsight is 20/20.” 

As we approach the new year, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) is encouraging you to exercise “Foresight in 2020.”   

While it’s easy to look back on where and how we failed to protect our assets, it is exponentially more beneficial to look forward and try to predict where we can best insulate ourselves from insurance crime and theft. By studying where we are vulnerable, we can identify weaknesses and adapt improvements that protect us, our families, and our property. From small precautions, like making sure we don’t leave valuables in our vehicles, to more extensive protections, like installing home security systems, we can exercise foresight in 2020 and stop crime before it happens. Law enforcement agencies across the country now engage in the practice of intelligence-based policing.

This methodology uses past data to identify and predict the patterns and behavior of criminals. NICB and our members follow suit, by identifying known threats and patterns in order to properly educate our consumers. You too can be an advocate in this preemptive strike against crime. Educate yourself, take precautions, and be vigilant. By using foresight in 2020, we can win the battle against crime.  

The best deterrent continues to be vigilance.

If there is a vacant home or business in your area, and you see suspicious or unusual activity around the property, call your local law enforcement. If any vehicles are involved, jot down their descriptions and license plates. Also, note the clothing and physical appearance of any person(s). All of this is very helpful to investigators. 

NICB reminds consumers to make sure your vehicle is locked when unattended. Don’t leave spare keys or fobs inside. Take a moment and be sure to hide your valuables from view. Even an empty bag or extra change in view looks appealing to a thief from the outside. 

Do things to protect your home, by locking your doors and investing in a home security system.  

Anyone with information concerning insurance fraud or vehicle theft can report it anonymously by calling toll-free 800.TEL.NICB (800.835.6422) or submitting a form on our website.

About the National Insurance Crime Bureau:

Headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is the nation’s leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting, and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, learning and development, government affairs, and public affairs. The NICB is supported by more than 1,300 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. NICB member companies wrote over $496 billion in insurance premiums in 2018 or more than 81% of the nation’s property-casualty insurance. That includes more than 92% ($254 billion) of the nation’s personal auto insurance. To learn more visit www.nicb.org.

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Umbrella Insurance Policies

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Shield Insurance Agency Blog | Umbrella Insurance | Start A Quote Today!

Hello everyone, this is Tj Simmons from Shield Insurance, and today I wanted to write a blog about an Umbrella Policy, and what it actually means, and how to actually use it, and then I am going to show some examples of Claim situations that the Umbrella Policy actually came into play. 

The first thing that I would like to mention when explaining an umbrella policy to someone – especially if they own a business, is there are two different types of Umbrella policy, Personal, and Commercial, Personal umbrella is for PERSONAL use (go Figure) and Commercial is for Commercial. 

The purpose of an Umbrella policy in Insurance is to cover the unforeseen tragic accidents that could leave you responsible for paying out of pocket if an umbrella policy was not in force. A lot of times when we ask people what an umbrella policy is for – they tell us “it is to cover the things that my regular policy does not cover” that is false. Your Umbrella policy is there for when your regular policy limits are exhausted, and there is more money to be paid out, that your regular policy has already maxed out its coverage. That is where an umbrella comes in (You can think of it like an umbrella opens up HIGHER than you, and WIDER than you, to protect you from rain.)

Umbrella Insurance

So the Umbrella is for a payout that is higher than what your current policy is written for. The Umbrella policy covers each policy that you have, as long as the carrier that is writing all of the policies, has the right guidelines. What that means is whether it’s a Liability Claim, an Auto Claim, a Workers Comp Claim, a Home Claim, RV Claim, no matter the policy, your Umbrella policy is ready to cover any payout that has exceeded the written policy limits. The easiest example that Tammy my business partner likes to use when we are discussing with people, is a car accident.

Let us say that you ran a red light and you T-Boned a car that had a high-paying Surgeon Driving. You just broke both of his hands! (yikes) this Surgeon makes $1000/Hr, and now he cannot work because his hands are shaky from getting T-Boned by you. This surgeon’s entire life now is changed because of you. After the claim situation is handled, it is stated that you must pay the Surgeon $2 Million Dollars, for hurting his hands and preventing him from working.

Your Auto Liability limit is only $1 Million per Claim, so now without an umbrella policy in force, you as the insured are on the hook to pay $1 Million dollars out of your pocket…Get ready to go Bankrupt! So – that is why you have an Umbrella policy in play. In this scenario, your umbrella policy would cover the last $1 Million, and you would just pay your deductible out of pocket. This is what the Umbrella policy is for. Here are a few more Examples – 

  • A Baby Sitter left a 5 month old infant unattended in a walker. The Infant toppled the walker, struck her head on the floor, and suffered Brain Damage. The parents of the Infant sued the teenage babysitter and her parents. The court awarded the infant’s parents $11,000,000.
  • The Insured’s Tenant Claims she became ill from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning resulting from a Faulty furnace. the Tenant Claimed Permanent brain Damage and Demanded $750,000.
  • A Teenager, who was destined for greatness as a softball player, Filed a $700,000. lawsuit against her Former Coach, Alleging his “incorrect” teaching style ruined her chances for an Athletic Scholarship. 

All of these claims were paid out, and if there was an Umbrella Policy in place, they came into play in these scenarios. Now – think about the $11 Million – do you think their Umbrella policy covered all of that? Or do you think that Babysitter is still paying for her mistake to this day? 

Thanks for reading everyone! Have a wonderful day, please feel free to reach out to me at Tjsimmons@Shieldagency.com or 616-377-4398 to Chat. Or connect on LinkedIn.

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Do You Know Your Flood Risk?

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Are you in a flood risk zone?

According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), everyone lives in a flood risk zone. Even those who don’t live near water are at risk because anywhere it rains, it can flood. Heavy rains, clogged or insufficient drainage systems, nearby construction projects, broken water mains, and inadequate levees and dams can cause flooding that puts your home and belongings at risk.

Your home is one of your greatest investments. It’s important to prepare ahead should a disaster occur. Here are three simple steps to help make sure you’re ready in the event of a flood risk.

  • Create a “flood file” and keep it in an accessible waterproof and fireproof container. It should contain a personal property inventory of your home, a copy of your insurance information, copies of any critical personal documents (e.g. social security cards, titles and deeds), and a CD backup of computer documents and digital photos.
  • Prepare your home by making sure your sump pump works and has a battery backup, your gutters and downspouts are clear, your electronics and appliances are elevated, and any valuables and keepsakes are moved to a higher level.
  • Develop an emergency plan that includes evacuation routes from home, work and school. Make sure that plan includes an out-of-town contact list that all family members can call in case you get separated. Also, create an emergency kit with extra drinking water, non-perishable food, first-aid materials, blankets, a battery-powered radio, a flashlight, and extra batteries that can be grabbed easily if you need to evacuate.

It’s important to know that most home policies don’t cover flooding and just a few inches of water damage can cost thousands. To find out if you live in an area that is at risk for flooding, type in your address in the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and use this interactive tool to learn more.

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