Household preparedness is critical if frontline responders are to avoid role conflict and report for duty during a disaster. Although differences between expert and non-expert risk assessment are well documented, the extent to which expertise impacts on household preparedness is less studied. To address this gap, 2087 Irish households, 678 of which are the homes of experts, are surveyed to ascertain their level of preparedness. The findings show that expertise has a positive and significant effect on both perceived and actual preparedness. However, experts are no more accurate than non-experts in judging the level of actual preparedness in their homes.