Press

Barron's - 9 Meals Away From Disaster

“If you prepare for an extended electrical outage, or ‘grid down’ situation, you’re basically prepared for virtually any disaster,” says Joel Smernoff, CEO of Black Umbrella, a New York firm specializing in emergency preparedness.

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CheddarTV - Joel Smernoff talking about Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

With Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in the news, Joel Smernoff was interviewed by the Cheddar team about how to prepare for the next hurricane or other disasters.

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Financial Advisor Magazine - Bunker Time for the Rich

Joel Smernoff, CEO of Black Umbrella, a New York City firm that creates custom emergency/safety plans and curates disaster kits for executives, families and businesses, says wealthy individuals and their extended families view uncertainty and risk through a different lens than average people.

“I think risk mitigation is very important to them,” he says. “That’s why many have family offices and focus on capital preservation. So in following the concept of being able to protect what you have, I think they also over-index in preparedness. These are people that are used to having insurance for everything. One way to look at emergency preparedness is as physical insurance.”

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Curbed - Bunkered Down: Shelters, Safe Rooms, and Designing for an Age of Anxiety

Curbed - Nov 2, 2016 What’s the psychological toll of this kind of constant worry, of expecting the worst outcome and investing in the aftermath? Catherine Hooper, a New York-based safety consultant who founded Black Umbrella, which creates personalized escape...

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Town & Country - The Latest High-End Real Estate Amenity? The Luxury Safe Room

In 2009, Catherine Hooper started the firm Black Umbrella, which works with high-net-worth families to come up with individualized disaster survival plans and create prestocked kits of essentials. "Our clients know what it takes to gain, and they know how easy it is to lose," says Joel Smernoff, the company's current CEO. "They buy a lot of insurance. We're just a different kind of insurance."

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The Huffington Post - Disaster Prep: Are You Ready?

Disaster Prep: Are You Ready? Posted: 01/26/2015 1:48 pm EST  Updated: 03/28/2015 5:59 am EDT Lately I've been inundated with messages about disaster preparedness. Is the universe telling me something? I sure hope not! Being prepared is one of those things I never...

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Fortune - Prepping for the Next Storm: An Entrepreneur's Advice

Prepping for the next storm: An entrepreneur's advice by Patricia Sellers, @pattiesellers  NOVEMBER 6, 2012, 1:15 PM EDT Catherine Hooper   Credit: Elisabeth Smolarz Catherine Hooper is one of the more intriguing entrepreneurs I’ve met recently. Her startup, Black Umbrella, provides services to help...

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