The bottom line: monitoring your insurance is critical.

• Position: Simple Precautions if Disaster Strikes

Mitchell Freedman is no stranger to disaster. Indeed, he's considered somewhat of an expert on pre- and post-disaster planning. He owns a small CPA firm, Mitchell Freedman Accountancy Corporation, and was one of a handful of CPAs who edited Disaster Recovery: A Guide to Financial Issues, distributed by the American Red Cross.

"I've been affected by a variety of disasters", says Freedman, who works and lives in Malibu. "And many of my clients have been affected by disasters over the years."

In the last 15 months, Freedman has dealt with three fires in Malibu--all coming very close to his home and work. "I always joke that Malibu should get a new area code: 911."

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Freedman's first piece of advice for CPAs and their clients when it comes to disaster preparedness is keeping some key information readily available and portable if you're forced to leave.

"Things can be damaged by water, fire and theft," he says. "We have what we used to call a kit, but it's actually grown into a number of boxes of irreplaceable pictures, insurance policies, hard drive back-ups, copies of prescriptions and copies of various pieces of financial information. You want to be able to move this stuff into your car as quickly as possible."

Freedman also advises videotaping or taking photos of your home and its contents. "In the event of a major or total loss, it's going to be difficult to recall everything you had in the house when filing insurance claims," he says.

After the disaster passes, there are different issues to consider. For example, though insurance companies usually send teams of adjusters to resolve claims and get money into the insured's hands as quickly as possible. "I strongly advise individuals to not sign off on any documents that would bring about a total settlement early," Freedman says.

"Sometimes you need time to digest what your loss is and make a determination as to what that replacement cost will be. If you settle too quickly, before you've had an opportunity to get engineers, architects and general contractors to bid, you may end up settling for a lot less money than you need."

Freedman also suggests speaking periodically to your insurance agent for the most current replacement cost estimates for your house. "It's important to insure for those amounts because it's difficult today to get a guaranteed replacement cost," he says. "There was a time when it didn't matter what your home was insured for, if it was guaranteed...