Important personal documents to scan in in case of an emergency

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Scanning for Homeowners: Digitally Housing Important Documents

Tuesday, November 8, 2011
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When preparing for emergencies like natural disasters, outages, or fires, it’s always a good idea to have an emergency kit handy – water, food, flashlight, blanket, first aid, etc.

But, do you ever stop to think about the other important things that you should pack in your kit beyond what’s necessary for survival, such as important documents. Rarely are documents considered when disaster strikes and yet, there are several important papers that should be a part of their own kit. We’ll call it a digital home emergency information kit.

Scanning essential homeowner documentation, then securely storing it online, protects your critical data from getting lost, stolen or ruined in the event of a natural disaster or property damage.

Documents that would go into this kit include:

Home

  • Deed/title to your house
  • Mortgage documents
  • Wills and living trusts
  • Appliance warranties and rebates
  • Emergency contact information
  • Fire, flood and earthquake escape plans

Insurance

  • Home, auto, life, medical and dental insurance policies
  • Auto titles, vehicle insurance documents and DMV registration

Financial

  • Bank account and credit card information
  • Tax returns
  • Retirement savings records
  • Investment records
  • Family attorney contact information

Personal Identification

  • Children’s fingerprints
  • Social Security cards and statements
  • Birth certificates
  • Marriage certificates
  • Passports
  • Driver’s Licenses
  • Green Cards
  • Passports
  • Military discharge records

Medical

  • Health insurance cards
  • Power of attorney and DNR statements
  • List of allergies to foods and medications
  • Copies of lifesaving prescriptions (EpiPen injectors, asthma inhalers, insulin, etc.)

Mobile personal scanners, like the mobile FujitsuScanSnapS1100, help to consolidate all of these documents into an organized folder. Once scanned, they can be uploaded and stored on a flash drive, smartphone, laptop or online at Evernote for ScanSnap, where it will be instantly accessible and searchable from any device you use, any time.

- The ScanSnap Team

via scansnapcommunity.com

I’ve found my Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 and its software (plus Evernote!) ideal for tasks like this.