You might only have a few minutes to collect and safeguard important documents if you are facing the threat of a fire or flood within your home. Documents to be saved include medical and financial paperwork like birth, marriage, and deaths certificates, passports and other types of identification; details about insurance policies; as well as titles or deeds. Replacing these documents is difficult and time-consuming, which is why it’s essential to secure them in case disaster strikes. The best way to do that is by taking inventory of your papers, making extra copies to be easily accessible and keeping them in a secure safe.

Bank safe deposit boxes can be a great spot to store important documents. If you cannot afford this, you can purchase an insurance-compliant safe for documents and put it in your home. They come in a variety of sizes and are designed to hold hanging folders for files. Select a safe that has a secure locking system to guard against burglaries. It must also have a ULC rating of at least one hour in temperatures up to 1,700 degrees F.

It is also possible to use an office drawer or cabinet equipped with a combination lock or https://1dataroom.com key lock to protect important documents from theft. However, it won’t offer any protection against natural disaster, and the documents might be subject to destruction by heat or humidity. Consider using a labeled file system to ensure the security of papers. Keep them organized in boxes with labels or envelopes so that they don’t get lost or destroyed accidentally.