Why is it time to combine your investment strategy with your disaster preparedness plan

Calls from customers usually start flowing when stocks go into a crash.

But recently, financial advisers have received more calls from customers concerned about the devastating wildfires in the West Coast, which this year comes amid the worst public health crisis in a century.

“We always get a lot of calls after it hits bear markets,” said Deron McCoy, chief investment officer at Signature Estate & Investment Advisors in Los Angeles. “Clients are always asking what they should be doing.”

His advice? Plan ahead before the disaster strikes, especially if you live in areas prone to climate change, which now threatens to make California wildfires worse.

“You need to fix your roof when it’s sunny,” he said.

More than 4 million acres have been burned in California since the start of the year, more than twice the area burned in any previous year, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

For McCoy, this means prodding customers not to be drawn into a situation where they become forced sellers when anything bad happens – which is tough this year.

He said “You don’t have your living expenses in stock.” “Tesla TSLA does not own December rent, -2.74%.”

On a larger scale, Silicon Valley workers may have to diversify in terms of portfolio creation. “They love their technology, but their homes are also linked to tech bonuses,” McCoy said.

Some aspects of disaster preparedness may be counterintuitive. For example, booming tech stocks have been in the stay at home, including Apple, Inc. AAPL, -2.86%, parent company of Google Alphabet GOOG, -2.19% and Facebook, Inc. FB, -2.26%, are evident beneficiaries during a pandemic.

But this year has also seen a tech-perfect campus in the Bay Area enveloped in dense smoke and ash from raging wildfires in Northern California.

Smoke from the wild bay area near Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

“If you were in harm’s way, you might not want all of your investments to be there,” McCoy said.

Bay Area homes hit record prices in August even with the coronavirus and bushfires, with existing single-family homes selling at an average price of nearly $ 1.07 million, an annual increase of nearly 19%, according to a report by the California Association of Realtors.

That compares with gains in Facebook shares of 26% year-to-date through Tuesday, while Alphabet’s shares rose 8.7% while Apple’s shares rose 54.1% over the same range, according to FactSet data.

Related: Big tech stocks drop amid reports that the House subcommittee wants to split them up

Major US stock indexes closed lower on Tuesday, after President Trump called for a halt to stimulus talks with Democrats until after the November 3 election. But despite the tumultuous September, the S&P 500 SPX, -1.39%, still ended trading on Tuesday at 6.1% compared to its record close a month ago, which marks the fastest recovery in history from bear market territory in March.

Getting ready for the “big guy”

Another major concern is that California is still behind the “Great Earthquake”, or catastrophic earthquake of magnitude 7.8 or higher that is expected to strike along the southern San Andreas Fault.

“Is California ready?” “Not at all,” said Louis Stroemer, Partner and Wealth Adviser at Octavia Wealth Management. “It’s not like Japan where they train monthly.”

To get better prepared, Strohmeier recommends his client contact the original home builder or architect to determine the strongest part of the house.

“Every home has an area that is likely to withstand the worst earthquake,” he said. “Understanding this is important.”

But in terms of risk coverage, he also said earthquake insurance policies can help, but they are often expensive and come with high discounts, which means that only a fraction of homes are currently covered.

There is also a fire risk associated with earthquakes. To this end, Strohmeier also likes to see his clients upload all of their actions, legal documents and estate planning materials into an electronic vault and their valuables, including cash and jewelry, to be stored in a fireproof safe.

The corporate role

While the pandemic requires many companies to keep their employees working remotely, this does not mean that companies bear any less responsibility to their employees or investors during a disaster.

“The most important thing is to protect critical assets and create a business continuity plan,” said Dr. Luis Gritso, director of research at FM Global, a commercial property insurer.

He said the warming climate trend also means that many companies will need to reinforce their existing disaster response plans and better deliver them to employees.

An FM Global 2012 poll found that 75% of American workers felt that their employer was not well prepared for a natural disaster.

“In general, people don’t have much confidence that they will get a job after a crisis, whether it’s an earthquake, wildfire or flood,” said Gritzo. “They are not completely sure if their company will be there. This plan needs to be announced.”

Related: Hurricane or wildfire evacuation? Put these items in your financial travel bag

.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos