Personal Finance: Protect valuable files for disaster
By Claudia Buck, cbuck@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Sep. 16, 2012
When it comes to keeping important papers in a safe spot,
insurance agent Gary Hatano vividly remembers one client's solution.
While visiting the home of a retired military veteran,
Hatano asked to see a copy of his life insurance policy.
"He said, 'Hold on a minute' and went to his
refrigerator," recalls Hatano, a Farmers Insurance agent in Folsom. From
the bottom of the vegetable bin, the retiree pulled out hisinsurance policy, neatly
wrapped in aluminum
foil.
While a tinfoil packet under the refrigerated carrots may
not seem like the most sophisticated solution, Hatano said he couldn't argue
too much with his client's intentions. In a fire, the packet presumably
wouldn't burn and everyone in his family knew exactly where it was.
We should all be so wellprepared. From torrential floods in
Louisiana to blistering California wildfires, this year's weatherrelated calamities
are a reminder that events beyond our control can strike anyone, anytime,
anywhere.
If a natural disaster hit your household, would you be
ready? We all have important paperwork that we want to safeguard: insurance policies, loan
papers, marriage or divorce documents, even the vaccination records of our kids
or pets.
Not to mention all our personal family photos, videos and
music sitting on our computers.
Knowing what to grab in case of a hurried evacuation could
prevent the loss of irreplaceable family mementos, as well as documents that
could be tedious and timeconsuming to replace. Here are some options:
Grab-and-go binder
Having a grab-and-go box or binder can be a lifesaver. Think
of it as a onestop spot to keep all your key documents. It can be a binder, a
file box, or anything portable enough to carry on your own.
Hatano, the insurance agent, says he keeps a documentfilled
binder hidden at home. It contains copies of all his family's crucial
paperwork: property
records, bank accounts, names of key professionals (financial planner,
attorney, banker, insurance and real estate agents). There's also
a copy of his trust.
"Trying to recreate all those copies would be a
nightmare," said Hatano, who also considers the binder a helpful resource
for his wife, in case something happened to him.
The binder does not contain originals of those documents,
however. Originals should be kept in a safe deposit box, a fireproof safe, at
an attorney's office or with trusted family members, Hatano advises.
Makin' a list
Another essential safeguard: a household inventory.
In the event of filing an insurance claim, "It's
hard to remember what you have," said Perry Ghilarducci, a Sacramento CPA
who heads Avaunt Ltd. He recommends keeping copies of receipts, warranties,
serial numbers and appraisals of your household valuables.
You can record a video or simply make a roombyroom list of
appliances, furniture, electronics, books, clothing. And don't forget the
backyard and garage.
Websites such as www.InsureUonline.org, sponsored by the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners, have easy tips on creating a household
inventory. There's also a Home Inventory Guide on the California Department of
Insurance site, www.insurance.ca.gov.
And don't forget your cellphone. Especially when so much of
our personal life resides in our handheld devices, you don't want to be
stranded if your phone gets lost, drowned or burned. Keep a card ideally
laminated in your wallet with a list of important numbers, everything from your
kids to doctors to the financial and professional contacts you might need in an
emergency.
Back it up
Whether it's your home or office computer, a backup is
essential. A simple hard drive that automatically backs up everything stored on
your computer is the first line of defense. But if it's damaged in a fire or
flood, all your family, financial and business files and photos could be wiped
out.
To better protect your hard drive, a California company,
ioSafe ( www.iosafe.com),
manufactures a series of hardy protective "safes" for computer hard
drives that it claims are waterproof and fireproof, whether submerged in water
for three days or burned in intense flames up to 1,500 degrees for 30 minutes.
It's essentially a second hard drive that plugs into a USB
port, acting as a tougher twin to your computer's own hard drive.
"It's for the things your insurance can't replace: your
family photo albums," said Robb Moore, CEO of the Auburnbased firm.
"What would you grab as your house is burning? Your family photos and
videos are the most compelling."
Akin to an airline's black box, the hard drive boxes are
shown in online videos being dropped off balconies, burned in barbecues and run
over by tractors. Starting at around $249, they can be found at Fry's, Best Buy
or online.
Others are migrating to storing computer data online in the
socalled "cloud," using backup systems that aren't sitting on their
desktops.
Ghilarducci's firm, for instance, provides online document
storage for its tax clients.
"It's a virtual file cabinet, if you will," the
CPA said, noting that clients can log in, using a personal password, to
retrieve their tax documents whenever needed. Clients are encouraged to use the
access to scan and upload other financial documents mortgage, insurance,
household inventories, for instance for their eyes only.
For his own office computer and personal laptop, Ghilarducci
says he's looking at companies such as Carbonite ( www.carbonite.com) that
automatically back up computer data to an online data storage center.
Safeguarding your possessions doesn't necessarily have to be
a hightech solution. As ioSafe's CEO put it: "Do something to protect
yourself against natural disaster."
Even if it's as simple as a zipclose bag or a dashoutthedoor
binder.
WHAT TO TAKE ALONG WITH YOU
If disaster strikes, the California Society of CPAs says you
should leave home or work with copies* of these documents:
• Birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, wills or
trusts, military discharge papers and other important "life event"
documents
• Property titles
• Social Security cards
• Passports
• Insurance records
• Credit card numbers and contact information
• Automobile pink slips
• Medical records, including prescription numbers
• Passwords and user names for bank accounts and websites
you frequently use
• Phone numbers and addresses of relatives, friends, doctors
• Federal and state income tax returns for past three years
• Receipts for highend purchases (jewelry, art, hightech
equipment, etc.)
• Bonds/stock certificates
• Household inventory
*Originals should be kept in a safe deposit box or fireproof
safe.
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