The insurer’s data shows that almost 60 percent of U.S. residents aren’t prepared for a natural disaster.
Well over half of all Americans would have been completely unprepared for an event like Hurricane Dorian, said a recent report released by Allstate Insurance.
Nearly 60 percent of Americans are assuming that natural disasters won’t affect them.
Allstate Insurance used Hurricane Dorian as an example of the type of natural disaster that can threaten Americans. Its report showed that while 70 percent of Americans say that they are concerned over catastrophic events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, sink holes, flash flooding and other natural disasters, their actions don’t reflect this concern. Despite the fact that FEMA shows that hurricanes and typhoons are now twice as common as they were in 1980, people still assume that the worst won’t happen to them.
Six out of every 10 Americans admit to being unprepared with a disaster plan. They may think disasters can happen and those catastrophes are a concern, but they don’t think it will happen to them, said the Allstate Insurance study featured in the report.
The unique and unpredictable nature of Hurricane Dorian show the importance of disaster preparedness.
“It’s a scary statistic considering Hurricane Dorian is expected to hit the U.S. coastline in the next few days,” said Ken Rosen, Allstate Chief Claims Officer, shortly before the storm was predicted to make landfall. “With extreme weather and natural disasters more frequent and severe, communities face a lot of complex issues and real danger.”
Though Florida was essentially spared from the massive hurricane, the storm’s path could easily have taken it straight up the middle of the state. That same storm slammed a number of other coastal states instead, before pounding its way through the Canadian Maritimes.
Even though the affected states are typically those most at risk of hurricane damage during the six month season in which those storms occur, many Americans simply don’t have a disaster plan in place.
Allstate Insurance encourages all Americans, not just its customers, to come up with a disaster preparedness plan. This is important no matter where they live and regardless of whether or not they were affected by Hurricane Dorian. The plan should take into consideration the types of natural disaster that have the potential to reach their part of the country. It should include the supplies, documents and strategy necessary in case such catastrophes occur. That way, 
if the area is threatened, they will have the opportunity to focus on putting the plan into effect and keeping their family and belongings safe, instead of scrambling to do everything at the last minute.
