Hurricanes and Your Financial Documents

I've lost count of how many times a client has called in a panic after a major storm to say that their papers have been damaged or even destroyed by flooding.  As our local media sends everyone into a  panic at the first sign of trouble, many people tend to focus on buying water and canned goods and they forget about everything else that needs to be done to protect their belongings.

Before you find out you have a major problem to deal with, here are some simple steps to follow to prevent what could be a disaster:

• If you MUST store your personal papers at home, put them into a water proof self contained box.  A fireproof box isn't much help because these are metal and will rust!  If you are in a position where you need to evacuate, you could return to find your important papers in one soggy mess inside a metal container that did nothing to protect you from flooding.
• The best way to protect everything you own is to register with an offsite storage company for all your documents.  Scan everything you want to save into your computer and sign up for a service like Carbonite.com.  Letters, photos, certificates, school and health records - whatever you need copies of.
• Bringing things to the attic or storing on a top shelf probably won't do much good.  Hurricanes do more damage than bring flood waters inside your home.  Your roof and your walls can easily come tumbling down, and attics and top shelves are not the answer.
• Invest in a safe deposit box in a bank that has a vault!  Vaults must be built according to specific guidelines - they need to withstand severe weather and "catastrophic occurrences"  - think bombs!  In other words, your papers will be safe from hurricanes and from a possible explosion.

These preparations need to be done well in advance.  Don't wait for the 11 pm news to start worrying about your documents!