Securing important documents and copies

After a disaster a long path through authorities, banks and insurers often begins. Everywhere you are asked who you are, what you own and which contracts you have. Copies speed this up because you have numbers, dates and contacts to hand at once, instead of piecing them together laboriously. For medical care it also helps to have the medication plan, allergies and vaccinations in writing.

The second idea is keeping things in separate places. If originals and copies are in the same cupboard, a single fire can destroy both. A second backup somewhere else – with a trusted person in another region or digitally encrypted – protects against losing everything at the same time.

These groups are a good guide: ID cards and passports; birth and marriage certificates; insurance policies; bank and account information; tenancy or ownership documents; certificates and diplomas; vehicle papers; vaccination records and medication plans; powers of attorney and advance directives. Add a list of important phone numbers, doctors, insurance numbers and allergies. Which documents are especially important in your country may differ – the list is a starting point, not a complete enumeration.

An often forgotten part is the household contents. If you walk through your home once and photograph or film every room and valuable items, you will later have evidence for the insurer. It may take half an hour and can save a lot of dispute and uncertainty.

The folder itself should be waterproof, for example a sealable document pouch or simple, well-closed freezer bags inside a sturdy binder. Originals you rarely need can also go in it or be kept in another safe place.

Copies of ID and bank papers are valuable to fraudsters, because they could be used to sign contracts or open accounts in someone else's name. So keep the folder securely and out of plain sight. Store digital copies only encrypted and with a strong password – never unencrypted in an email inbox or on a plain USB stick.

In a fire or other immediate danger: do not look for documents, get out at once, call the local emergency number (112 in the EU). The folder is meant for orderly evacuations, not for situations in which every second counts.

The folder must be quick to grab so you can take it in an evacuation – for example next to the go bag or inside it. The basement is unsuitable because it is affected first in a flood. A place on an upper floor, dry and not right against an outside wall, is usually better.

Once a year you look inside: have any IDs expired? Are there new contracts, new insurance, a new family member? Have phone numbers or medication changed? A fixed date, for instance together with checking the go bag, keeps the folder from going out of date.

Each country decides whether and for what copies are accepted. In many cases you will still need originals or newly issued documents in the end. The copy does not replace them, but it speeds up the process, because the authority immediately knows which document is involved. Some authorities also recommend certified copies; if in doubt, ask the responsible office.

An extra copy with relatives in another region is a simple and effective addition. If your whole home area is affected, a complete set of papers is still waiting there.