Protecting Important Documents in Emergencies and Natural Disasters

I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Today we’re taking a look at how we can plan and prepare to keep our important documents safe and within quick reach in cases of emergency or natural disasters.

It’s common knowledge that when people get into their vehicle to drive, they should have their driver’s license, vehicle registration, and automobile insurance card with them. You never know when you might be in a situation in which you need that information. Hopefully, you won’t need it, but it is required and good to have that information on you.

What about in the context of other kinds of emergencies or natural disasters that might arise? It’s not something most people like thinking about, but it is wise to take some proactive steps to ensure you know where all of your important documents are in order to quickly grab it on the way out of your house (if there’s an evacuation) or to protect it from things like heat or water.

First of all, what kinds of documents should you prioritize as important to keep protected? Think things like:

• birth certificate
• marriage certificate
• social security card
• passport
• driver’s license or photo ID
• living wills and other advance directives
• power of attorney documents
• will and/or trust documents
• list of the names, ages, birthdates, phone numbers, and photos of immediate family members
• insurance declaration pages/cards
• property deed, mortgage or renter’s documents
• vehicle registration and title
• benefit letters for retirement or disability
• list of medications and allergies
• list of bank and investment accounts
• list of credit card accounts
• list of contact information for close contacts

Plan on periodically checking this stack of important documents to ensure they are up-to-date. It’s good to also keep a digital back-up of these things on a thumb drive that you can easily grab, put in your pocket, and maybe keep in a bank lock-box. The paper copies of the documents can be store in a protective plastic bag or fireproof bag. While fireproof bags are generally not designed to be subjected to direct flames for very long, they can usually withstand high temperatures well and you can also find some that are also waterproof.

Sometimes these important documents are destroyed regardless of the amount of work we take to protect them. In these cases, all is not lost. If you do need to replace something like a government-issued document, you can go to the applicable governmental agency for help with that. For example, for replacement birth certificates, you usually contact the birth state’s vital records office. If you need to replace social security cards, you contact the U.S. Social Security office. There are helpful government websites that give step-by-step instruction on what to do to replace lost or missing documents.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com. While there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”