Do you have all your essential documents in one place? If you do not, it may be a good idea to start.
To focus your thoughts, think about what you would need in the event of a disaster like severe weather or a house fire. What would you need to have ready to grab and go?
Digital copies
You might begin by scanning or photographing:
- Birth and marriage certificates
- Wills and powers of attorney
- Passports
- Driving licences
- Mortgage documents or the deed to your home
Insurance
Next, think about insurance documents. This would include copies of your insurance policies, which should include the policy numbers.
You should record in your phone contacts useful numbers for your insurers. You should also include some photos of your home and its contents. The photos will jog your memory and provide evidence for a claim if you need to make one.
Medical and pets
What about your important medical records? Do you have prescriptions you would need with you? Some pharmacies allow you to keep your prescriptions on file with them, which can be handy.
And what about your pets? Apart from making sure they are microchipped and have name tags with contact details on their collars, you should also have your vet’s contact details on your phone.
Passwords
Think about all the passwords you might need to use. An online “password vault” means so wherever you are, you can access vital sites.
Safekeeping
You can upload your important documents, now in digital form, to a password-protected online location. When uploading, ensure you use a well encrypted, password-protected service. Our clients can upload documents to our secure portal, but a service like Dropbox or Google Drive could also suffice.
If you are not comfortable with that, store your physical documents in a weatherproof folder, inside a small safe of the sort you can buy from a hardware store. This should be one you can easily pick up in the event of an emergency. Keep it in a readily accessible spot and let us hope all your only interaction with it is to put stuff in and to wipe dust off it.
