72 Hour Emergency Kit Series Week 9: Documents

In case of an emergency, and especially one requiring an evacuation, you’ll want to be able to easily prove you are who you say you are and you own what you say you own.  You may need to be cleared by authorities to regain access to your home, prove your identity to travel, or claim losses with your insurance agent.  Having proper documentation in your emergency kit will help you do all these, plus it will help you access important information even when there is not an emergency.  So what documents do you need?  And where do you keep them?  Let’s start with a list of suggested documents you’ll want to have easy access to.  Keep in mind that you may not personally even have all of these, so just gather what you do have.

GET THIS LIST as a printable PDF checklist here!

72 Hour Emergency Kit Documents

Proof of Identification (because Aunt Mildred vouching for your identity just won’t cut it)

• Driver’s License
• Concealed weapons permit/s
• Birth Certificates
• Social Security Cards
• Passports
• Marriage License

Property Records (because you own this stuff and you want to prove it)

• Mortgage/Deed for all property owned
• Rental agreement
• Video, photos, and/or lists of home and property inventory (best if you are in the photos or video).  Next time you clean your house, just take pictures in each room.  You don’t even really need to clean your house–nobody is going to see these unless you actually experience an emergency that creates loss of your home or property.
• Receipts for major purchases
• Payment record for major repairs
• Appraisals of jewelry, other valuables
• Titles to vehicles
• Cemetery lot information
• Firearm inventory/Serial Numbers

Insurance Policies

If you don’t want to copy the entire policy (some of these are thick!), at least have the contact information for your agent and your policy numbers handy.

• Homeowners
• Health
• Life
• Disability
• Automobile

Medical Information (so you can get medical help if you need to)

• Immunizations, other records
• Prescription information (drug, dosage)
• Health Insurance ID Cards
• Physicians names and phone numbers
• Living will
• History of illnesses, accidents, surgeries
• Power of Attorney for health care
• Dental records

Estate Planning

• Wills, trusts
• Power of attorney
• Funeral instructions
• Attorney’s name and phone number

Financial Records

• Tax returns (2 years)
• Credit cards front and back
• Stocks, bonds, CD’s, money market
• Recent bank statement

Other

• Personal address book
• Backup of important computer files
• Usernames and passwords for online accounts
• Key to safety deposit box
• Recent photograph
• List of where original documents are kept
• Extra set of car and house keys
• Contact numbers of utility companies (gas, electric, water)
• Emergency numbers
• Map of area and phone numbers of places you could go in case of evacuation

Where to Store Your Documents

Your original documents are SO important to keep safe if at all possible.  Some things, like a driver’s license, birth certificate, or passport must be presented as originals, not photocopies, to be considered valid.  For most documents, a copy will suffice.  Here are some ideas on where to keep them.  I recommend choosing one place for originals and at least two others for copies.

1. Originals in a safety deposit box at a bank.  These are secure, but consider if you really want to be going to the bank in the event of a regional or wide spread disaster.
2. Originals gathered together at home in a place where you can grab them all and go quickly, but they are not easily accessible or located by those who might have an interest in stealing your identity.  A fire-proof safe or fire resistant document bag in a discreet location is perfect.
3. Copies of all your original documents in a discreet notebook.
4. Scanned copies saved on a thumb drive.
5. Scanned copies uploaded to an online data storage service like Amazon cloud (free unlimited photo storage for Amazon prime members), or Dropbox.
6. Scanned or photocopies at a location other than your home, like a trusted friend or family member’s house.

The only drawback to storing files digitally would be if the disaster was so widespread that there was no access to computers or internet networks anywhere.  While possible, the most common emergencies will be local or personal and your scanned files will be accessible from a computer away from your home.

Want to chat with me about 72 hour kit documents? Here’s the video:

What about you?  What documents do you have in your emergency kit?  Leave me a comment below with any ideas or suggestions.

Keep preparing!
Angela

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