52
AMERICAN
HOMEOWNERS
UNPREPARED
FOR DISASTER
ough the majority of Americans believe
they will be impacted by natural disasters,
recent data found that there are still more
actions that can be taken in the short term
to help protect their finances and their
families should disaster strike, according to an
American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) survey
of 2,050 U.S. adults conducted by e Harris
Poll in the fall of 2019.
Six in ten Americans (61%) believe they
are likely to be personally impacted by a
natural disaster in the next three to five years,
including one in five (19%) saying they are
very likely to be personally impacted.
"In the face of a natural disaster,
protecting your family from harm should be
your primary concern," said Gregory J. Anton,
CPA, CGMA, chair of the AICPA's National
CPA Financial Literacy Commission.
"During the recovery process, access to
financial resources and personal information
is critically important. Taking action to put
together a plan today will help protect your
family and your finances should you ever find
yourself impacted by a natural disaster."
Nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%)
have taken at least one step to prepare for a
natural disaster, most commonly assembling
a disaster supplies kit (34%), creating an
evacuation plan (32%), or backing up and
storing personal medical and financial records
in a safe place (31%). e bad news is only
15% have created a disaster plan to protect
their finances. Another 27% have not taken
any steps at all to prepare for a natural
disaster. Additionally, just 27% of Americans
have valuated insurance needs to assure
adequate coverage.
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