This September: You Can Be the Hero.

National Preparedness Month 2013

This September: You Can Be the Hero.

September is National Preparedness Month (NPM). It is a time to prepare yourself and those in your care for emergencies and disasters. If you’ve seen the news recently, you know that emergencies can happen unexpectedly in communities just like yours, to people like you. We’ve seen tornado outbreaks, river floods and flash floods, historic earthquakes, tsunamis, and even water main breaks and power outages in U.S. cities affecting millions of people for days at a time.

Police, fire and rescue may not always be able to reach you quickly in an emergency or disaster. The most important step you can take in helping your local responders is being able to take care of yourself and those in your care; the more people who are prepared, the quicker the community will recover

This September, please prepare and plan in the event you must go for three days without electricity, water service, access to a supermarket, or local services for several days. Just follow these four steps:

• Stay Informed: Information is available from federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial resources. Access Ready.gov to learn what to do before, during, and after an emergency.
• Make a Plan: Discuss, agree on, and document an emergency plan with those in your care. For sample plans, see Ready.gov. Work together with neighbors, colleagues, and others to build community resilience.
• Build a Kit: Keep enough emergency supplies - water, nonperishable food, first aid, prescriptions, flashlight, and battery-powered radio on hand - for you and those in your care.
• Get Involved: There are many ways to get involved especially before a disaster occurs.  The whole community can participate in programs and activities to make their families, homes and places of worship safer from risks and threats. Community leaders agree that the formula for ensuring a safer homeland consists of volunteers, a trained and informed public, and increased support of emergency response agencies during disasters.

By taking a few simple actions, you can make your family safer. Consider planning a Ready Kids event in your community to encourage families to get prepared with their children.

• Volunteer to present preparedness information in your child’s class or in PTO/PTA meetings.
• Invite officials from your local Office of Emergency Management, Citizen Corps Council, or first responder teams to speak at schools or youth events.

Use local emergency management resources to learn more about preparedness in your community.

• Contact your local emergency management agency to get essential information on specific hazards to your area, local plans for shelter and evacuation, ways to get information before and during an emergency, and how to sign up for emergency alerts if they are available.
• Contact your local firehouse and ask for a tour and information about preparedness.
• Get involved with your local American Red Cross Chapter or train with a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

For more information, check out:

Ready.gov/be-informed

Ready.gov/make-a-plan

Ready.gov/build-a-kit Ready.gov/get-involved

Follow us: @Readygov

Email us: ready@fema.gov  or citizencorps@dhs.gov

Monthly Preparedness text messages: Text PREPARE to 43362 (4FEMA) to receive monthly preparedness tips. (msg/data rates apply)

Order publications: call 1-800-BE-READY, 1-888-SE-LISTO, and TTY 1-800-462-7585

National Preparedness Month: September 2013

Ten Ways to Prevent Water Damage

About one quarter of all homeowner’s insurance losses in the United States are caused by water damage.  Just a few steps could help you prevent a water damage from happening:

1. Know where your water shutoff valve is located.  Be sure that the entire family knows how to shut off household water supplies in the event of a sudden pipe or hose break.


2. Let faucets drip during extremely cold weather. This keeps the water moving and helps to reduce the chance of freezing.


3. Never leave the house with appliances, such as dishwashers or washing machines still operating.


4. Turn off the water while you’re out of town. Many homeowners have returned from vacation to find their washer hoses have burst and flooded their homes.


5. Inspect your plumbing every year. You should inspect your water pipes and fittings annually. This is a simple check that takes only a few minutes but could prevent thousands of dollars in water damage.


6. Inspect your water heater, washer, dishwasher, sinks, toilets and refrigerator ice maker for evidence of water leaks and repair immediately.


7. Use the exhaust fan in the bathroom while the shower is on. This helps to remove steam from the room.


8. Check your hoses and replace them if they indicate wear.  Consider replacing hoses to your washer and dishwasher every two to five years.


9. Repair window and door cracks with caulk. This helps to prevent water from seeping into the house from outside.


10. Clean out gutters and down spouts regularly. This helps prevent overflowing, which may damage your roof.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WATER DAMAGE

How to Help Your Children Cope After a Disaster

The emotional strain that a fire, water or storm damage causes is often more devastating than the damage to your home and property. This is especially true when it comes to children. How can you help your children cope after you experience a disaster at your home? Here are a few tips from FEMA.gov:

Personal contact is reassuring. Hug and touch your children.

Calmly provide factual information about the recent disaster and current plans for insuring their safety along with recovery plans.

Encourage your children to talk about their feelings.

Re-establish your daily routine for work, school, play, meals, and rest.

Encourage your children to help update your a family disaster plan.

READ MORE DISASTER RECOVERY TIPS AT FEMA.GOV

Clothes Dryer Safety Tips

• Do not use the dryer without a lint filter.
• Make sure you clean the lint filter before or after each load of laundry. Remove lint that has collected around the drum.
• Make sure the air exhaust vent pipe is not restricted and the outdoor vent flap will open when the dryer is operating.
• Once a year, clean lint out of the vent pipe.
• Make sure the right plug and outlet are used and that the machine is connected properly.
• Follow the manufacturer’s operating instructions and don’t overload your dryer.
• Turn the dryer off if you leave home or when you go to bed!

Hey Girl...It's ok I called Champion

How Does My Insurance Claim Get Paid?

The whole insurance claim process can be confusing.  Its true that your insurance company approves the scope of the repairs and provides the claim funds.  But your contractor (not the insurance company) is responsible for performing satisfactory repairs, and you the homeowner (not the insurance company) are ultimately responsible to make sure that your contractor gets paid.

A common question people have is 'what do I do with my deductible?'  Your insurance company will 'deduct' your insurance deductible from the total claim funds that they pay.  If you have a total claim of $10,000.00 and your deductible is $1,000.00, your insurance company will pay $9,000.00 and your $1,000.00 deductible is to be paid by you directly to your contractor.  Your contractor will expect your deductible to be paid at the beginning of the project.

Another common question is 'why did the insurance company put my mortgage holder on my claim check?'  We all jokingly say that the 'bank owns our house', but there really is truth to that statement isn't there?  Your mortgage holder has a definite interest in the condition of your home, so you insurance company can be required to include your mortgage holder on the claim check if you have a mortgage and if your claim reaches a certain dollar amount.  Oftentimes this claim threshold for including the mortgage company is $10,000.00 but can be as low as $5,000.00.

Your role as the homeowner is vital in expediting the process of contacting your mortgage holder and getting them to endorse the claim check promptly.  They will have documents that need to be completed by both you and your contractor.  They will need the scope of repairs and claim check sent to them.  Oftentimes they will order a brief visual inspection of the repairs to make sure the work was completed before  they sign off on any check.

It can be extremely frustrating for a contractor to have completed the repairs, and then have to wait for weeks to get paid while the mortgage company holds on to the check.  Your role is vital in getting your contractor paid at substantial completion of the repairs.  And if you choose a reputable restoration contractor that offers a warranty for their services, you won't have to worry about whether they will come back to address any concerns you may have about the repairs.

Greg Ahlstrom - Accounting Manager

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Way to Go Lisa and Team!

"We are very happy with the quick response of Champion the night of the event. They showed up after midnight and worked for hours to save our home. We are delighted with the follow-up on repairs, too. We think very highly of Robert who did most of the work."

- USAA Water Damage Client in Senoia, GA