Survey Finds Gender Gap in Attitudes Toward Disaster Preparedness

Men Say They Are More Prepared Than Women

NOVATO, Calif., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Men and women are on different
pages when it comes to disaster preparedness, with males typically believing
they are more prepared than women, according to a national survey by
AxcessPoints, an online disaster preparedness service that helps consumers
safekeep insurance, financial and medical information.
The survey taken by AxcessPoints from Oct. 22-24 found significant gender
differences between the sexes, including the following:
-- More than 36% of males said they are extremely or well-prepared for a
disaster, compared to just 22% for women. At the same time, 62% of men
surveyed said they are either not very well prepared or not prepared at
all, compared to 77% of women when asked the same question.
-- Asked whether their families have an emergency communications plan that
includes where to meet and what to do, 37% of males say they have such
a plan, but just 19% of women responded that they do. Similarly, 38%
of males said they have an emergency communications plan, while only
22% of women said such a plan is in place in their home.
-- Men and women have different priorities in responding to a disaster.
When asked what item they would grab from their homes in case of an
emergency, 39% of males said they would take financial documents
necessary to help rebuilding after a disaster, while only 27% of women
said so. By contrast, 14% said of men said they would take family or
wedding pictures first, compared to 32% for women.

"Men and women have significantly different viewpoints about disaster
preparedness and those divergent attitudes expose American individuals and
families to unnecessary additional risk," said AxcessPoints CEO Karlyn
Carnahan. "The common thread between both men and women is that they lack
knowledge and have not spent the time to adequately prepare. By taking a few
simple steps, consumers can significantly minimize the financial and personal
pain from a disaster."
For the insurance and financial services industries, the lack of
preparation represents an opportunity to help consumers. The survey indicated
that both men and women would rely on their insurance company more heavily
than established relief organizations, such as the Red Cross or FEMA.
"Consumers have a higher level of trust with insurance companies than
other organizations designed to provide disaster assistance," Carnahan said.
"That translates into a unique opportunity to offer a disaster preparedness
solution to consumers across the country."
AxcessPoints enables individuals and families to input insurance, bank and
investment account information, along with medical histories, emergency
contacts and other data. AxcessPoints can be configured to authorize selected
family members, friends or trusted advisors to view all or part of the
information online, so loved ones separated by geography can easily help one
another.
About AxcessPoints
AxcessPoints is an online disaster preparedness service that helps
individuals and families better organize and safekeep personal, medical and
financial information to minimize the impact of a natural disaster.
AxcessPoints provides a personalized, highly secure information repository
that enables clients to quickly retrieve critical information to start
rebuilding their lives. AxcessPoints is marketed to consumers directly online
and is offered on a private-label basis to insurance providers, financial
services companies and corporate employers. For more information, visit
http://www.axcesspoints.com, or 415.234.6358.
SOURCE AxcessPoints

Greg Berardi, +1-415-239-7826, greg@bluemarlinpartners.com, for AxcessPoints