Disasters often occur unexpectedly and provide limited time for preparation. Therefore, it's crucial to proactively develop a plan for quick evacuation and handling of essential evacuation details well before a disaster strikes. This plan should include measures to safeguard your vital documents.

Identifying Essential Documents

The first step in protecting important documents is identifying which documents are essential. That includes various documents such as:

• Identification documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, child custody papers, driver's licenses, passports, Social Security cards, etc.).
• Pet information, including shot records, microchip information, ownership documentation, etc.
• Medical information, including documentation about specific medical conditions, medication prescriptions, etc.
• Insurance documentation (home, auto, medical, etc.).
• Mortgage and vehicle documentation.
• Financial documents (account statements, tax returns, pay stubs, retirement plan information, etc.).

If you have a living will or estate plan, that documentation is also essential documentation you'll want to protect.

Physical Protection Strategies

You'll want to ensure you keep physical documents filed securely. If you have the option, consider investing in a water and fireproof safe you can keep in your home to store those documents. Also, consider the additional measure of storing them in protected folders that provide additional protection against damage (it never hurts to go the extra mile when protecting essential documents).

Digital Backup Solutions

To protect your documents, actively scan them and store digital copies. This step ensures the preservation of information if the original documents are destroyed or stolen. Securely store these digital copies in cloud storage or on a thumb drive that you keep with you constantly, like a key-fob thumb drive, to maintain their safety and accessibility.

Safe Deposit Boxes

Many banks provide safe deposit boxes for protecting important documents and papers. Although these boxes are ideal for general protection and safeguarding, accessing them might be difficult after a disaster. Therefore, consider creating digital copies of these documents as a backup plan to ensure their availability when needed.

Organizing Documents

Prioritize organizing and storing your documents for easy access. Whether safeguarded digitally or physically, well-organized documents simplify access and save time. Digital organization is straightforward. For physical copies, use properly labeled file folders as low-cost, highly effective tools to organize these essential documents.

Disaster Kits

Digital copies work best for disaster kits. A thumb drive takes up little space and allows you to focus on carrying only the most critical documents as part of your "go bag."

Recovery and Replacement

Some insurance policies offer the recovery and replacement of documents as part of the coverage. You should check if that is the case with your insurance. Recovering and replacing lost documents can be costly and time-consuming, especially after a widespread disaster where resources are limited and multiple families compete for the same resources.

Preventing Identity Theft

Because identity theft is so widespread, the loss of documents after a disaster takes on greater urgency. Insurance options are available to help you protect your identity from identity thieves who obtain access to these records before you can recover them. Consider a service like IDShield or LifeLock to protect you from identity theft.

Takeaways

There is no easy solution to protect your identity and personal documents after a disaster. However, utilizing multiple options to safeguard your information reduces your risks of harm related to lost, damaged, destroyed, or stolen documents when disasters occur.