What with tornadoes, hurricanes, brush fires and flooding from heavy thunderstorms, homeowners have more than enough incentive to review their insurance policies and ask: Are we covered if disaster hits?

Most home buyers soon learn that shopping for a dream home doesn't end with finding the perfect house and the lowest mortgage rate. Bankers want to make sure the investment is protected.   After shopping for a loan, would-be homeowners will need to start looking for insurance. In many parts of the country, that includes much more than simple homeowners coverage.

Troublesome weather
In fact, State Farm Insurance's Internet Web site hosts a map of the United States that spells out just how much people have grown accustomed to troublesome weather,  thanks to El Nino. On the map, states are colored in red to show where a recent storm or other catastrophe resulted in at least 500 claims worth at  $1 million or more.

"You want to make sure you're prepared in the event of a disaster,'' says Ruth Gastel, a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute in New York.

Homeowners should first review the details of their policies to find out  which "perils'' or natural and other disasters are covered. Most policies insure against things like fire, lightning, theft and other potential threats encountered just about everywhere.

Needing more coverage
Yet, people living in areas prone to earthquake or hurricane strikes will almost certainly need additional coverage, while homeowners nationwide will need to protect against rising waters by buying separate flood insurance, which is sponsored by the federal government.

Homeowners should also note whether they have "replacement cost'' or "actual cash value'' policies. With replacement cost, a 20-year-old camera that gets destroyed in a storm will be replaced with an equivalent new model, while cash value coverage would leave a homeowner with nothing because the item has lost its value over time.

That means owners of newer houses and furniture should consider cash value policies, Gastel says, while owners with older dwellings and contents may benefit more from replacement-cost versions, which are generally 10 percent more expensive.

Home remodeling can be another potential trip-up. After completing any renovations such as enclosing a deck or adding onto the kitchen, homeowners should make sure the insurance agent or company knows about the work and how much value it adds to the home. That will help determine whether additional coverage is needed.

Policies and other documentation, such as a video or photographic inventory of the home's contents and receipts indicating their value, should be taken and stored in a protected, offsite location, Gastel says. A relative's house or bank safety deposit box are the best examples.

La Nina forecast
These precautionary steps should help prepare people for most events. But the remainder of 1998 promises to test homeowners' mettle, according to most forecasts.

El Nino is giving way to La Nina, a natural phenomenon expected to intensify weather patterns rather than reverse them, says Margaret Sheehan, a spokeswoman at the Institute for Business and Home Safety in Boston. That could lead to a stronger hurricane season and more flooding during a year that already caused about $1 billion in insurance claims during the first quarter, up 16 percent from the same period in 1997.

Still, even the most at-risk homeowners can obtain insurance coverage -- for the right price.

In Miami Beach, hurricane insurance for a $90,000 home and $45,000 worth of possessions goes for about $350 a year, according to the Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association. Further west, residents of the seismically active San Francisco Bay Area can purchase earthquake protection from a quasi-public agency. The owner of a $90,000 house would pay about $411 for annual earthquake coverage, according to the California Earthquake Authority.