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Catastrophes happen every day. Whether they’re natural disasters like floods, tornadoes and hurricanes or man-made like vandalism, fires or poor maintenance, you and your home could be at risk. Be prepared with several personal catastrophe planning tips.

Identify hazards in your home. Is your heating system up-to-date? Do you keep flammable materials in a safe location? Are rodents living in your attic? Do you see exposed wires? Are the steps and railings in good repair? These and other hazards affect the safety of your home, family and visitors.

Develop an emergency evacuation plan. Make sure you and your children know how to escape your home if there’s an emergency. Map an escape route, practice using the escape ladder to get out of the second story bedrooms, know how to stop, drop and roll, and be prepared with a meeting spot in case you need to evacuate. Ask a relative in another city to serve as a contact, too, to handle communications in case you and your family are separated.

Teach your kids their address and phone number. Kids as young as three or four should know their personal information in case they get separated from you or lost.

Learn CPR and first aid. Knowing these skills can save someone’s life. Stay updated on your trainings, and store supplies in a waterproof bag along with your other emergency supplies.

Maintain emergency supplies. In a large, waterproof barrel, stock emergency supplies for any situation. Ideas include a flashlight, batteries, lantern, rope, tape, tools, medications, gloves, blankets and first aid materials.

Stockpile water. Experts recommend you store enough water for up to three days. You’ll need at least one gallon of water per person per day for drinking, bathing and sanitation, and store the bottled water in a cool, dark location such as your basement.

Store enough food. Non-perishable food can sustain you if the power goes out or you otherwise cannot access fresh food. Options include canned meat and fruits, granola bars, peanut butter, dry cereal and preserved fruits. Remember to stock a manual can opener, napkins, plates and utensils, too.

Remember your pet. Along with your family’s water and food supply, store a small bag of dry food, potable water, identification and proof of current vaccinations for your dog.

Practice for catastrophes at least once every six months. Make time to refresh everyone’s memory on what to do in an emergency, and tweak anything that needs to be changed.

You don’t know when a catastrophe will hit, but you can be prepared. Update your insurance coverage and follow these tips.

Homeowner’s insurance protects your home’s structure and belongings since it can pay for costly repairs or liability after a natural disaster, break-in or accident. You’ll be stuck with a huge bill, though, if you don’t have enough home insurance. Follow these steps as you make sure your home insurance is adequate for your needs.

Determine the Home’s Value

When you first purchased a homeowner’s insurance policy, you told the agent how much your home was worth. That figure might have changed since then. Use a recent tax assessment and an independent contractor to give you a current and accurate value for your home.

Switch to Replacement Cost

Actual cash value calculates an item’s worth as the amount you originally paid for it minus depreciation. Replacement cost pays you to replace the item at today’s cost. Update your policy to replacement cost and give yourself more coverage for a few dollars more.

Inventory Your Home’s Contents

Over time, the contents of your home have probably grown, so take time to update your inventory list. Include all the valuable artwork, jewelry, electronics, firearms or collectibles you’ve acquired. Take pictures of your valuables, too, and include the receipt from its purchase, if possible, a written description, serial numbers and other identifying details.

If one of your valuables is super expensive, purchase an additional endorsement. It’s designed for items of significant value.

Consider an Umbrella Policy

Say you install a pool in your backyard or add an addition to your home. Check into an umbrella policy. It provides additional liability coverage that accounts for your home’s upgrade and protects your assets.

Check Into Flood Insurance

Most regular homeowner’s insurance policies do not include flood insurance. Add this valuable coverage if you live in a flood plain or if there’s any chance that your home could be flooded.

Insure Your Dog

Certain dog breeds, such as pit bulls and Rottweilers, are not insurable, and your homeowner’s insurance policy will not cover liability if one of these breeds bites someone. Tell your agent if you’ve purchased or adopted one of these breeds.

Check Your Condo Coverage

In case you live in a condo, read the association policy to understand what part of your building you must insure. Usually, that’s the contents of your home and any improvements you make to your condo.

Do an Annual Review

At least once a year, review your homeowner’s insurance policy. Ensure your coverage is adequate for your current needs.

Homeowner’s insurance is one way you protect your valuable home, belongings and other assets. Make sure you have enough coverage when you talk to your agent today.

Tenants who rent apartments or houses have the right to live in housing that’s habitable. That means landlords must complete any repairs that prevent the tenants from living there. Sometimes, though, the repairs are minor or cosmetic. Who is responsible to make those fixes?

What Must a Landlord Fix?

To keep the rental habitable, the landlord must ensure that it’s structurally sound. It should also have hot and cold water, a non-leaking roof and safe electrical, heating, plumbing and ventilation systems. A landlord must also pay to remove pest infestations unless it’s caused by a tenant’s poor housekeeping or other wrongdoing.

What Does a Landlord Not Have to Fix?

Certain minor problems in a rental property are not a landlord’s responsibility to fix. Examples include running toilets, leaking faucets, small carpet holes, torn window screens and dirty grout.

There are only three times when a landlord must fix these minor or cosmetic repairs.

1. These repairs are included in the rental agreement as the landlord’s responsibility.
2. The landlord promised verbally or in writing to fix the repairs.
3. State and/or local building codes mandate that the landlord make minor repairs that otherwise are not his or her responsibility.

How to get a Landlord to Make Repairs

While most landlords are responsible, some do slack on their duties to make repairs. Tenants have several options.
First, do not withhold rent or make the repair yourself and take the total out of the next month’s rent. You could be evicted rather than see the repair get done.

Instead, put your repair request in writing. Outline the exact reasons why you want the repair and why it would benefit the landlord. Include details to show the landlord that by not repairing a minor problem it could pose a safety risk that ultimately costs him or her more time and money in the future.

Mediation would be the next step. Find a free or low-cost mediation service in your area and sit down with the neutral party and your landlord to discuss a resolution.

You could report your landlord to the building or housing code, and the authorities will inspect the property. If violations are found, the landlord will be required to make repairs.

A lawsuit would be the last resort. You have to prove that the problem caused the rental value to decrease, and your win will likely end your relationship with your landlord forever.

If you rent a property or are a landlord, understand who’s responsible for making repairs. Make sure both parties have adequate insurance, too, as an extra layer of protection.

There are many good reasons to carpool. Maybe you share rides with co-workers to save money on fuel costs or to reduce your carbon footprint. Or you and other parents might carpool your kids to school, sporting events or activities. You might even carpool with friends to the mall, book club or vacation. No matter why you carpool, it could affect your auto insurance rates.

Personal or Business Coverage?

Many personal auto insurance policies include a restriction that voids liability coverage if you use your personal vehicle for livery or public conveyance. Simply put, that means you can’t use the liability coverage on your auto insurance if your vehicle is in an accident while you rent it out or use it to operate a taxi service.

This restriction against commercial or business use is in place because commercial drivers are at greater risk for accidents. They drive more miles, are exposed to heavier traffic flows, regularly navigate poor weather conditions and face increased pressure to meet tight delivery deadlines compared to drivers who use their vehicles solely for commuting, errands, vacations or other personal uses.

However, this exclusion does not apply to carpools, driver groups or ride share situations. Even if you accept money in exchange for rides, your carpool is typically not considered a commercial enterprise because that cash pays for fuel and upkeep on your car.

Do You Have Enough Liability Coverage?

Accidents do happen, and your liability will be even higher after a carpool accident because you have passengers for whom you are responsible. Increase your liability coverage and purchase an umbrella policy to protect your financial assets in case you’re in an accident and are sued by one of your passengers. The cost is relatively small compared to the protection and peace of mind you receive.

Consider increasing your medical payment coverage, too. It pays for medical treatments your passengers need after an accident. Increase coverage based on the number of passengers in your carpool.

Bump up your underinsured and uninsured coverage as well. That coverage goes into effect if you or any family members are injured while riding in a carpool driven by someone else. After that driver’s policy limits are reached, your underinsured and uninsured coverage can pick up the difference.

You’ll also want to make sure that anyone who drives your vehicle has your permission to do so. That way, your liability coverage will pay for any accidents that driver causes.

Carpooling gives you several benefits. Before you get started, talk to your insurance agent and make sure your auto insurance policy covers your carpool.