By Ryan Stueber While it is usually quite straightforward to get an Earthquake Insurance policy, understanding how the policy works and the options you can choose from is not. If you’re more interested in the answer to “Should I have…
By Ryan Stueber If we do experience “The Big One” in our lifetime we can be certain of two things- Our lives will be severely disrupted and our Homeowners Insurance will not cover any damage caused by the earthquake. We…
Written by: Ryan Stueber Due to the recent earthquakes in Alaska, we’ve taken a lot of calls from concerned clients asking about Earthquake Insurance. While having Earthquake Insurance is a great step to protect your home, you need to survive long enough to take advantage of it. Here are five simple steps that I am taking to prepare my family for a major earthquake. Buy a portable water filtration system According to a recent article in the Seattle Times, one of the first things we will lose in a major earthquake is water pressure needed to supply running water. Seattle Public Utilities also warned that it could take up to 2 months to restore running water to the city and its suburbs. So, while it may seem prudent to keep some bottled water in your garage, it likely won’t be enough to get you through. The good news is that we live in an area of the world that generally has a lot of water if you can make it safe to drink. Iodine tablets can be effective but I prefer some of the newer portable filtrations systems that you can find in REI and other camping stores. Katadyn, LifeStraw and Sawyer all make excellent filtration systems for a reasonable cost. Put one (or more) on your Christmas list this year. Know where to find water nearby Assuming you now have a system to filter your water, it would also be prudent to find the nearest natural water source and make sure you have something you can carry water in. I simply looked on Google maps to find the nearest lake and stream and determined how long it would take me to walk there (let’s assume the roads are damaged) and what I could use to carry the water. It […]