The Roadmap to Preparedness is an outreach and education program that helps renters, home and small business owners take specific steps to protect their assets and build financial safety nets for disaster resiliency. It is administered by United Policyholders (“UP”), an independent, consumer-focused non-profit that has been a source of trustworthy information and expertise on disaster recovery since 1991. Preparedness services are provided by UP staff and trained volunteers with personal experience and/or professional expertise in insurance, seismic retrofitting, fire prevention, flood and hurricane mitigation, personal finance, and asset protection.

Having the right amount and type of insurance and well-organized records makes a world of difference after a disaster. Our educational materials and tools are drawn from more than thirty years of post-disaster Roadmap to Recovery work and from monitoring the insurance marketplace and related public policy and legal matters.  We do not accept funding from insurance companies. We do not sell insurance.  Our plain-talk consumer-oriented financial guidance and tools help people make good insurance decisions and be more resilient. We share lessons people have learned while using their insurance after a loss. We tap into the expertise of our unique corps of volunteer experts including property/casualty, life, disability, health and auto agents, brokers, lawyers and construction professionals.

Roadmap to Preparedness program services and initiatives
  • Roadmap to Preparedness Educational Workshops

    UP offers workshops and speakers for public and private events aimed at promoting and facilitating disaster preparedness. Our presentations, exercises and materials encourage audience participation and are in plain language and tailored to the local risks in a geographic area. To schedule a workshop in your community, email info@uphelp.org. [Speaker availability is subject to funding and community support]

    To view a sample presentation, visit our YouTube Channel

     

  • Insurance Preparedness Rack Cards and Guides

    United Policyholders provides preparedness rack card handouts to local leaders and organizations to provide  insurance and disaster preparedness guidance to homeowners and renters. Available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Tagolog.  To see our current inventory and how to order, click here.

    Examples of Rack Cards include:

    • Home Insurance Check UP
    • Dropped by Your Insurer?
    • What’s UP with Flood Insurance
    • What’s UP with Renters Insurance
    • Improve Your Home’s Chances of Surviving a Wildfire

    —

    Our buying tips publications filter out clever ads and intimidating legalese.  Avoid wasting money and the painful and expensive “surprises” people struggle with when the policy they thought would be their safety net turned out to have gaping holes.

    For other types of insurance, visit our Buying Tips Library

  • WRAP Resource Center - Wildfire Mitigation Help

    The Wildfire Risk Reduction and Asset Protection (“WRAP”) Resource Center, is an initiative supported by a statewide network of resiliency advocates and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

    Our goals are to reduce wildfire risk throughout California and help property owners access fairly priced insurance.  In the WRAP Resource Center you’ll find out about the home improvements that reduce wildfire risk, access leads to programs and people that can help you make those improvements, and info on risk reduction activities in your community

  • Video Shorts and PSA Campaigns

    UP produces short videos and partners to promote preparedness through PSA campaigns.  View our video shorts here.

     

    Watch our Spring 2023 Renters Insurance outreach campaign  in partnership with the Ready North Campaign.

    This PSA was featured in Minnesota and Wisconsin via television and radio.

     

    Watch our Fall 2014 renters insurance outreach campaign featuring Mario Lopez and UP Staff.
    This PSA was broadcast in California via television and radio.

  • Insurance Preparedness Library

    Use our preparedness library to find publications, articles and resources to make sure your insurance safety net is adequate.  Our Tip of the Month tackles hot topics in insurance and preparedness. These consumer resources can help you avoid many of the problems we’ve seen in our over thirty years helping people with home, business, health, life, disability, and auto insurance claims. We know you want to pay the least for the most. But we also know you want to be covered if something bad happens.

  • Home Inventory and Evacuation Tools

    In our over thirty years of working with disaster victims we have seen over and over again how time-consuming and emotionally painful it is for people to prepare the detailed loss inventories that insurers and the IRS require. And, especially after a traumatic loss, it’s impossible to remember everything you had, so most people never collect their full insurance benefits.  Anyone with a pre-loss inventory has a huge advantage in the recovery process.

    • Evacuation Check List: When told you have to evacuate your home, you may feel overwhelmed on what to take.   Along with sentimental items that are irreplaceable, this is a short list of important documents that disaster survivors highly recommend you take, based on their personal experiences.
    • Home Inventory Spreadsheet: Our easy-to-use UP Home Inventory will help you list the contents of every room in your house. We created our inventory tool from the most comprehensive lists that past disaster survivors created and used to get paid in full on their insurance claims. Benefit from lessons that others learned the hard way.
  • Roadmap to Resiliency

    Helping the following vulnerable populations through education campaigns and fighting for consumer rights in the legislature and courts.

    • Seniors
    • Low income populations
    • Minority populations
    • Victims of climate change

    For more information on our advocacy work, visit the Advocacy and Action page.

  • Colorado Preparedness and Resiliency Project (2020)

    Thank you to the Denver Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) for funding a 2020 preparedness campaign.  Through our tips from the Trenches webinar series, our nonprofit organization United Policyholders (UP) reached Colorado residents with road-tested tips on how to be a savvy and smart consumer when it comes to insuring your biggest asset: your home.  With 30+ years helping disaster survivors navigate the insurance claim process UP knows what matters when it comes to insurance.  Learn more here.

Recent News and UPdates
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