IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS

Part of preparing for a disaster of a tornado, floods, fire, earthquake, or hurricane includes disaster-proofing your important papers.  You should make sure that after a disaster you are able to access documentation necessary to speed up your recovery process. When you are prepared it means that you can focus on personal safety when it counts, and not worry about gathering documents at the last minute.

Here is a list of some of the main documents and where you should store them. 

Where to Keep Your Important Documents

The goal is to have everything in at least two places in case one is destroyed or inaccessible. Where you store each item depends on when you expect to need them, and can they be replaced.  will depend partly on when you expect to need it and partly on how hard it would be to replace. 

Documents to STORE:

1. Insurance
2. ID’s
3. Legal Contracts
4. Major Service Contracts
5. Employee Contracts
6. Financial information
7. Family Social Security Cards Copies
8. Pictures of family members (With Social Media this has become easier to access if the family member is online)
9. Major Project Plans
10. Car insurance cards
11. Medical information
12. Health insurance cards
13. Life insurance Policies
14. Legal Will

Some of the places to keep them include:

Online or Digital Storage

In this day and time technology provides some excellent tools for safeguarding your important documents. It also makes it easier to access your documents when you need to, and more convenient to update them.

Wallet or Purse

You can keep small documents such as government ID, medical insurance, medical contact numbers and pictures of your family members. 

Safe Deposit Box

It is very easy to rent a safe deposit at your financial institution for a small fee.   

On the other hand, a safe deposit box can be inconvenient if you want to access its contents frequently or at times when the bank is closed. It can also be problematic if you keep things in the box that you might need immediately after a disaster because the bank may be inaccessible.

Home Lock Box

This lockbox should be fireproof, lockable, and light enough for you to carry. This is a good place to keep originals or copies of things you might need immediately.

Attorney Office

If your attorney has prepared legal documents for you, they, typically, will keep a set of originals.

Friend or Relative

Keeping copies of important papers with a trusted family member or friend who does not live close to you. Keep in mind that you will not have immediate access to anything kept by them.