May 21, 2009
Disaster tip of the month: Remember important documents
Editor’s note: The Emergency Management Division of the Washington Military Department is offering a tip a month to help people get prepared for a disaster. University Week will carry these tips each month.
May’s tip recommends that you make sure you have important documents collected and readily available. After a major disaster, you may need financial assistance and will want to document any property loss for insurance and income tax purposes. Having ready access to the documents necessary for completing application forms, as well as those which could be difficult to replace, will help reduce delay and frustration.
At a minimum, the papers you should have include property insurance papers, health insurance papers, financial papers, wills, powers of attorney and estate papers. You should also take photos or videos of all valuables as documentation for insurance claims.
It’s also suggested that you make a list of important people and their contact information to keep with your other papers.
Click here to download a PDF with this information.
Click here to go to the UW’s Emergency Management Web site.
