Warmer weather brings the beginning of tornado season. Tornadoespose a greater risk than many other natural disasters because oftheir imminent threat. A coming flood or hurricane usuallyguarantees at least a 24-hour notice, but a tornado can touch downin a matter of minutes, if not seconds.

If you live in a tornado-threatened area, you need a plan inplace now. It’s not a matter of if your home and familyare at risk, but when they’re at risk of a tornado. Havinga tornado preparation and response plan will give you added peaceof mind, no matter what happens.

[Related: Don't make these 3 insurance coverage mistakes in2015's tornado season]

Fact: 75% of people don’t have a complete list ofeverything in their home, according to a 2012 survey by theNational Association ofInsurance Commissioners. Further, homeowners without a homeinventory recover on average only 30% of their home’s value if itis destroyed from a natural disaster.

Along with the increase in natural disaster claims in recentyears, insurance fraud has gone up by nearly 45% between 2011 and2013. Having third-party documentation of all personal propertyeliminates the burden of proof should the unthinkable happen.

Here are eight steps you can take to create a tornadopreparation and response plan.

(Photo: Goodluz/Shutterstock.com)

1. Document your home now, not when you’re under threatof a tornado.

If you’re under a tornado warning, you don’t have the time to doanything but get to safety. This isn’t the time to run around yourhouse and snap pictures of book collections and jewelry boxes. Getto safety!

If a tornado hits your home, what’s the most importantinformation that you documented? It would probably be your personalbelongings, like family heirlooms. If you lose these pricelessitems in an instant because of a tornado, they cannot be replacedwith any amount of money.

The first step in preparing for tornado season is documentingyour home now. Our TWS Home Inventory team has created afree resource guide on "How to conduct a home inventory." This will give youhelpful tips on how to correctly conduct your own personal propertyhome inventory.

(Image: Bixsooz/Shutterstock.com)

2. Have a detailed response plan for getting your familyto a safe place.

If the tornado sirens went off right now, where would you go?What would you take with you? Does your family know the safestplace to brace for a coming tornado? Plan ahead of time to haveeverything you need in your designated safe place. Store bottles ofwater, blankets, flashlights, dry good snacks, and a first-aid kitin your safe room so the supplies are there if you need them.

(Photo: Production Perig / Shutterstock.com)

3. Designate a third-party check-in person in case ofevacuation.

Unless a tornado comes in the middle of the night, it’s likelysome of your family members won’t be home when a tornadoapproaches. Have a third-party person proactively designated as theemergency check-in in case of evacuation. If any of your familymembers need to be evacuated or seek shelter, they need to contactthe check-in person at their first opportunity.

Our experience during the Waldo Canyon fire when 32,000 people were evacuatedwith only minutes notice emphasized the importance of this step.Don’t rely on local cell service as often the local systems will beoverloaded. We saw panic as family members were unable to confirmthe safety of loved ones and pleas by officials to remain off cellservers. The peace of mind gained by this simple step is truly themost valuable I can suggest.

Knowing all your loved ones are safe allows you to focus onother important things during a disaster. We strongly recommendthat this person is someone who doesn’t live in your same generalarea, so they’re not also being evacuated or at risk.

(Photo: Thermchai/Shutterstock.com)

4. Create a waterproof box to keep important paperssafe.

Collect any important papers and place them in a brightlycolored, waterproof storage box or bin. Tornado damage can oftencause flooding, which is why the container needs to be waterproof.These papers may include birth certificates, insurance policies andcontact info, banking information, wills, and other personaldocumentation.

Store the box in your safe room during tornado season. Thisensures your information is kept safe and secure without theunnecessary risk of someone running to grab the box on their way tosafety. Once tornado season is over, you can relocate the box to amore permanent location.

(Photo: Minerva Studio/Shutterstock.com)

5. Don’t make the news!

If a tornado is bearing down on you, one of the worst decisionsyou can make is going outside to take a video or pictures of thetornado with your phone. Don’t be that person! You can watch thenews later that evening where they’ll have plenty of professionalfootage of the tornado from a safe distance. Watch the news butdon’t make the news because of a foolish decision. Remember, atornado can touch down at any time and unless debris has beenpicked up it can be invisible.

(Photo:; Andrey Popov/Shutterstock.com)

6. Follow the weather in real-time.

In 2012 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA)’s National Weather Service released the new Wireless Emergency Alert system. This serviceis free and automatic and uses the cellular location of your phoneto give you relevant updates to your specific area. It’s availableto WEA-enabled phones, which includes a vast majority ofsmartphones.

You can also download a variety of weather apps to track radar,view forecasts, and even stream weather broadcasts. Here’s a listof the 10 top weather apps available today.

Aftermath of category 4 tornado that touched down inHenryville, Ind., on March 2, 2012. (Photo: AlexeyStiop/Shutterstock.com)

7. If a tornado does affect your home, wait for theprofessionals to help.

If a tornado does damage or destroy your home, your safety isthe first priority. Your insurance company does not want you to bedocumenting, assessing, or photographing the damage on your own.Let the professionals do their job. Redcross.org advises you to returnhome only when authorities say it's safe to do so.

Broken glass, sharp debris, flooding, and exposed wires are justa few of the dangers that tornadoes can cause in their wake. Don’trisk any unnecessary danger. Get to a safe place and then contactyour insurance provider.

A home heavily damaged by an F2 tornado that swept throughOregon Twp in Lapeer County, Mich. on March 15, 2012. The house waslifted from its foundation. (Photo: BenjaminSimeneta/Shutterstock.com)

8. Know your insurance policy—and fill in anygaps.

In a tornado-prone area, wind and flood damage coverage are anecessity. The storms that generate tornadoes are often accompaniedby heavy rain, flooding, hail, and high winds. Even if thestructure of your home remains intact, wind and flood damage caneach cause irreparable harm to your belongings.

[Related: Tornado! 6 tpes of insurance that can help youstart over]

It's essential that all homeowners know their insurance policyinside and out. You should be aware of what kind of damage iscovered as well as what kind of damage isn’t. Typical homeowner’sinsurance plans do not cover flood damage even though according tofloodsmart.gov, flood is the number one naturaldisaster in the United States. You should be comfortable with theterms of your policy. If you’re not satisfied, now is the time tocontact your insurance agent to discuss any special riders oradditional coverage for gaps in your current policy.