Ways to Recover From a Natural Disaster

There are many types of natural disasters that occur during a year such as hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, tsunamis, twisters, earthquakes and more. After the dust has settled the first thing one thinks about what do I do know.  The next thing to consider is their identity. 

When I heard stories about natural disasters I started to wonder did they have a safe and copies of all of their bills and financial papers. How will they regain their identity and start their life again?  What is the first thing they should do? These are just some of the questions that must be considered when rebuilding after experiencing a natural disaster.  Here are 14 financial tips to help you recover from a natural disaster.

Notify. 

Contact all of your family and friends and employer and let them know what happened. Ask them for resources or people that can assist you with food, clothing and shelter.

Insurance.

Contact your insurance company and file a claim. Contact a lawyer to get legal advice.

Mail.

Ask a friend or relative if you can use their address to receive mail temporarily.  

Inventory.

Make a list of all your service providers you do business with. Include the name of the company, mailing address, payment address, phone number, type of account and website. Call each company and tell them you have been a victim of a natural disaster.  

Identification.  

Contact your local passport, motor vehicle and social security administration office to get duplicate copies of your driver’s license, SSN and passport.  Also contact your local Office of Vital Records, Public Health Department or county recorder’s office to get a duplicate copy of your birth certificate.

Financial. 

Contact all of your financial institutions and ask for duplicate copies of your financial statements.  Apply for a new debit card and pin.

Credit. 

Contact your credit card companies and ask for a new credit card for each account. Contact the 3 major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and place a credit freeze on your credit reports.

Spend Wisely.

Replace missing items by shopping at discount or outlet stores, buying in bulk and buying items on sale.

25 Sure Fire Ways to Avoid a Scam During a Natural Disaster

 

When a natural disaster occurs, many criminals take advantage of victims by defrauding them for money during a time when many are experiencing hardships and loss. There are hundreds of scams but the most common as identified by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) such as social media, job, charity, sweepstakes and lottery, home improvement, check cashing, phishing, identity theft, penny actions, and BBB scam.  

The Department of Labor provides resource information on how to recover from a hurricane. FTC has a list of 21 ways that criminals steal money on its Hurricane Recovery website at https://www.dol.gov/general/hurricane-recovery. Unfortunately, no one is immune to scams but there are some warning signs. Here are 25 ways to avoid being a victim of a scam during a natural disaster.

1. Do not provide financial information before work is performed.
2. If you need to apply for a loan for repairs, the person recommends a lender.
3. Ask for identification and carefully examine it if someone knocks on your door.
4. Ask for an office number and call the office to verify the person’s identity.
5. Look to see if the vehicle the person is driving is a company vehicle and write down the drivers’ license number, make, model, color, and license plate of the vehicle.
6. Ask questions about why they are knocking on your door, why they feel you need their services and why you should do business with them.
7. Avoid answering personal questions or respond no to personal questions such as How long have you lived here? Whom do you live with? Can I see the inside of your home? or Can I walk around your property? Can I use the restroom or can I use your phone?
8. Do not let a stranger into your home.
9. Avoid giving your personal and financial information online or over the phone.
10. If you are a woman and live alone, tell the person you will get back to them.
11. Look at any documentation provided and tell the person you will review it and get back to them. If the person pressures you into signing the document or agreeing to do business that day tell them you will report them to the BBB for harassment.
12. Do business with reputable companies who are licensed and bonded. Request a copy of their certificate of liability insurance. Get referrals from family members or friends.
13. Get at least three price quotes for repairs and loans and compare them. If there are huge differences in price, schedule, terms, and conditions ask questions.
14. Ask for three references of past customers.
15. Check the BBB website to see if there are any complaints against the person or perform an internet search to look for any negative information on the company.
16. Get the contact information of the person who will be inspecting the work.
17. Get a lien waver from the person or company performing the work.
18. Do not pay the person in full until the work is completed to your satisfaction.
19. Do not sign any contract or documentation that has blank fields. The person should complete the necessary information before providing the documentation to you to complete.
20. Discuss the proposed work with your insurer adjuster prior to signing any documentation. 
21. Businesses do not contact you by email or use pop-ups to ask for your personal information or account number online. Call the company and ask them to verify if they sent you an email. 
22. Know the status of your account such as personal information you provided to the company, status of your account (open, closed, etc.), balances and outstanding charges. 
23. Use spam filters on your email accounts. If you click a link by accident, close the browser immediately and go to the valid website to access your account. Change your password and notify the company that you received a phishing email. Create PINs and passwords that cannot easily be guessed. 
24. Beware of fraudulent checks. Ask the company to send you a money order instead of a check. This reduces your chances of cashing a fraudulent check and allowing the company access to your bank account information. 
25. If you feel you were a victim of a scam report the incident to the Better Business Bureau, FBI, US Postal Service or FTC at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en.

14 Effective Ways to Recover From a Natural Disaster

                                                  

There are many types of natural disasters that occur during a year such as hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, tsunamis, twisters, earthquakes and more. Recently Houston, Texas experienced some tremendous flooding of homes, businesses and other areas.  Some homes were completely blown away or toppled to the ground. After the dust has settled the first thing one thinks about what do I do know.  The next thing to consider is their identity. 

When I heard the stories I started to wonder did they have a safe and copies of all of their bills and financial papers. How will they regain their identity and start their life again?  What is the first thing they should do? These are just some of the questions that must be considered when rebuilding after experiencing a natural disaster.  Here are 14 financial tips to help you recover from a natural disaster.

1.      Notify.  Contact all of your family and friends and employer and let them know what happened. Ask them if they know of any resources or people that can assist you with food, clothing and shelter.

2.      Insurance.  Contact your insurance company and put in a claim. Contact a lawyer to get legal advice and protection in the event your insurance company becomes difficult with reimbursing you for your loss.

3.      Mail.  Ask a friend or relative if you can use their address to receive mail temporarily.  Go to your local post office and forward your mail to that address.

4.      Inventory. Make a list of all the companies you do business with.  Include the name of the company, mailing address, payment address, phone number, type of account and website. Go to a friend’s house or your local library and get the contact number for each company.  Call each company and tell them you have been a victim of a natural disaster. Give them your temporary mailing address to get duplicate copies of all of your bills.

5.      Identification.  Contact your local passport, motor vehicle and social security administration office to get duplicate copies of your driver’s license, SSN and passport.  Also contact your local Office of Vital Records, Public Health Department or county recorder’s office to get a duplicate copy of your birth certificate.

6.      Financial.  Contact all of your financial institutions and ask for duplicate copies of your financial statements.  Go to your local bank branch and have a flag put on any unused checks if you know the check numbers.  If not, order a new set of checks and have them mailed to the branch. Once you determine the numbers of the unused checks have the bank put a flag on them to prevent fraud. Ask for a new check card or debit card and pin.

7.      Credit.  Contact your credit card companies and ask for a new credit card for each of your accounts. They make ask you to complete an affidavit stating what happened. Contact the 3 major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and place a credit freeze on your credit reports.

8.      Media.  If possible, purchase a small portable tv or radio to hear important information from the media about resources available for victims.

9.      Property.  If you have any property left that is not totally damaged leave the property where it is so the insurance company can examine the property and perform a full investigation. Make a list of all property that was in your home with the following information categorized by room:  item, date purchased, estimated value, cost to replace the item, indicate if the item was insured, insurance company who insures the item, quantity and if the item was still under warranty.

10.   Service Providers.  Make a list of any other service providers that you do business with: mechanic, doctor, lawyer, accountant, financial planner, psychologist, marriage counselor, plumber, lawn care professional, professor, tax preparer, barber, hairdresser, etc. Include the name of the company, mailing address, payment address, phone number, and website.

11.   Needs.  Create of things you need to survive:  food, toiletries, clothing, etc. Categorize by the name of each person in your family, size and the cost of each item.

12.   Budget.  Create a budget to determine how much money you earn after taxes, monthly bills and expenses and how much you will need to replace basic necessities.

13.   Spend Wisely. Replace missing items by shopping at discount or outlet stores, buying in bulk and buying items on sale.

14.   Live for Tomorrow.  Document what you learned from this experience and steps to take if you ever have this type of experience in the future.   Make sure you have adequate insurance coverage.  Purchase a fireproof and waterproof safe.  Keep copies of your SSN, birth certificate, driver’s license, bills, financial statements, will, taxes, insurance papers, mortgage paperwork, and credit card statements in the safe.  Also keep a list of all of your inventory lists in the safe.