Your household valuables naturally include things like antique possessions, jewelry, clothing, art and other keepsakes. However, they might also include a multitude of vital records and important documents that not only have to be preserved, but also that will often come in handy following disastrous events in the home.

How much are your valuables worth to you? That’s a question that many people ask themselves when they’re faced with a disaster. Taking steps today to safeguard your valuables can help speed up the process of filing claims and getting organized following a disaster or loss (e.g., storm damage or home fire). Learn how to do this below.

Taking Inventory of Your Items

You can’t properly insure important sensitive possessions if you don’t know what you have in the first place. While you will naturally think of possessions like furniture, clothing, jewelry, art or other special belongings when getting coverage, there are numerous less obvious possessions that must be protected in the face of damage hazards.

That’s why it’s important to verify what you have and what you want to make sure is protected in the face of danger. Go through your home to find your treasures, and use the list below to begin taking stock of your valuables:

• Vital records and certificates (birth, marriage, divorce, adoption, child custody, death)
• Passport, driver’s license, Social Security card and other identification documents
• Property leases, deeds, mortgages, titles (auto, home) and other legal records
• Financial records, including recent tax returns, copies of pay stubs and bank account statements, and debit and credit card numbers
• Insurance policy documents
• Wills, living wills and powers of attorney
• Medical records including prescription medicines, medical conditions, medical provider contact information and copies of health insurance/Medicare/Medicaid cards
• Safe deposit box information and keys
• Records of passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs)
• Family photos, keepsakes, jewelry or other mementos
• Photographic or data inventory of valuables (photos, videos, CD/flash drive)
• Jewelry, art or other possessions of verifiable value

What’s important to realize is that many of these items, like your financial records, IDs, property deeds and (perhaps obviously) your insurance documents will need to available for use as you work through the recovery process. Many others, such as keepsakes, are virtually irreplaceable, not to mention hard to appraise for insurance purposes. As a result, you have to realize that an extra level of security is always necessary for these items.

How to Protect Your Valuables

Once you take stock of items that you want to protect, the next thing to do is to protect them. There are a multitude of low-cost, simple, but effective ways to secure your belongings not just when problems beckon, but at any time.

• Scan important records such as vital records, medical records and financial documents, and save the files on disks or flash drives. You may also want to password-protect the data you have stored in case of loss or theft. Store the backup records in a safe deposit box or other off-site location.
• If you have too many records or no way to scan/copy them, store them in a flood/fireproof home safe or a safe deposit box. Also, consider giving backup copies of important documentation to family members to store for you.
• If you have valuable items stored in a basement, move them to a higher location to avoid water damage.
• Include any readily accessible records, such as medical records and medical contact information, in your disaster kit.
• In some cases, you may be able to protect valuables in waterproof containers available in sporting goods or hardware stores. For smaller items, a flood/fireproof home safe may provide temporary protection.
• Take precautions to protect yourself from identity theft when you create backup systems to store critical information.
• Create a photographic record or inventory of your valuables and store it in a safe deposit box or other off-site location. Consider keeping a copy on a CD or flash drive in your disaster kit, so that you can provide it to your insurance company following a loss; this will allow you to start the insurance/recovery process more quickly.

Remember, when disaster strikes, you may not have time to gather your valuables. Take time today to protect your valuables for the future, instead. Though you hope that a problem will never occur, you at least want to know that you are ready for anything, just in case.

Also Read: How are Home Insurance Rates Calculated?

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