Winter has finally arrived and we can expect to see cold days along with many associated problems such as frozen pipes, ice damming on roof and window sills, electrical failures that cause sump pump failures, broken pipes, floods, trees falling on homes, roof damage, siding damage, on and on and on.

What to do about these potential problems!!! I suggest you have a plan to deal with disruptions that occur before these events take place. That plan should include lining up of contractors that can make emergency repairs, having a fallback option in the event that you must vacate your home or business, business interruption plans, plans for alternate energy such as a generator for maintaining electricity to critical home and business systems and finally understand your insurance policy and its coverages.

Don’t wait until a problem manifests itself before you give thought to all the potential issues that may disrupt your home and business. People that wait until the last minute make a big problem much larger. Keep in mind the safety of your family and friends and make sure you and your property are thoroughly protected. Storms are devastating events that cause critical damage to homes, businesses, people, and financial burdens that may render you helpless. More times than not these events are more serious because people are not prepared to deal with them. Time is critical when a storm occurs. Boarding up windows, wrapping pipes, ensuring sump pumps have back up batteries, covering windows are some of many things that can be done to minimize damage. Should damage occur the sooner you can make emergency repairs the more likely you are to limit the damage caused by the storm. In that regard you must be prepared to make temporary repairs or have someone available that can make them for you. A generator in place may enable you to stay at your location instead of spending money in relocation to another place of residence or business operation. This can be a significant especially when staying in place far outweighs the benefit of relocating. How soon you get on your feet and recover from the storms affects will be determined by how prepared you are. The more prepared the less costly and least disruptive the storm will be to you.

Finally it is imperative that you review your insurance policy and keep it close to you should a storm occur. After all most damages caused by storms are covered by homeowners and flood insurance. Review your policy and take a note of what your coverages are, who to call in the event of damage, what remediation company can assist with roof, water, mold and fire damages. Do you have a public adjuster to assist you with damage estimation, claim preparation and claim submission? If not consider having one ready to assist you before the storm even occurs.

Preparation is critical to ensuring that the effects of a storm are minimized and interruptions in your life and business are kept to a minimum. Should you have doubt about what to do or who to call you can always contact professionals that handle these events routinely. Don’t leave yourself unprepared. Make sure you take the steps necessary to protect yourself, family and business.