How to Safeguard Critical Documents from Disasters
- Taking an inventory of all important documents. Using a software application can help property owners organize information more quickly, since the number of documents may be large. Common document categories include:
- Household identification, such as IDs, birth, marriage or divorce certificates, passports, driver’s licenses, pet ownership papers, etc.
- Financial and legal documents. These can include a wide array of documents including mortgage agreement, credit cards, vehicle loans, insurance policies, utility bills, tax statements, etc.
- Medical documents. Medical information can vary greatly from person to person and may include health insurance, prescriptions, disabilities documentation or contact information for doctors.
- Keeping all physical documents in one place. Should a disaster occur in the home, it might be possible for property owners to take valuable documents with them if they are kept in one container.
- Storing documents either at home in a safe, filing cabinet or lockbox that can be easily carried in case of a disaster. However, the container should be waterproof and fireproof and kept in an accessible place. A safe deposit box at a bank is also a safe alternative for protecting critical documents.
- Making paper copies or duplicate originals of all key documents to have a backup solution in case the original documents get lost, damaged or destroyed. The copies should be stored in a different place than where the originals are kept.
- Creating electronic copies of each document and storing them in a secure online cloud storage service, a CD, or a portable storage device. Although electronic files can’t be affected by fire or flooding, the storage device or CDs must be protected.
After experiencing a home fire, or other disaster, it is essential to contact your insurance representative as soon as possible. The most important questions to ask after a fire are available here. The PuroClean team stands ready to provide professional restoration services to any property affected by fire, water or mould damage.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn to get our notifications!