Organize a Financial “Bug-Out Bag”

BAY COUNTY, FL – Every hurricane season, we discuss hurricane preparations extensively.  Everyone gathers batteries, water, sandbags, extra chargers, medications, and all the other essentials we Floridians often take for granted.  What is often overlooked, though, are the financial and other documents, which are usually critical to your recovery process following a big storm like Hurricane Michael.  

As we get to the meaty part of hurricane season, it’s a good time to gather the following items: 

1) Cash: ATMs and electronic payment systems may go down, and if so, cash is king.  

2) Account information and passwords: Be sure to have bank account information, your checkbook, and passwords to any website you may need to access.  

3) Email account details: Be sure you can access your email remotely, as you may need this to reset passwords or get other critical information. 

4) Insurance policy information: Have a copy of your insurance policies – especially for your home – and phone numbers of your agent and insurance company. 

5) Phone numbers: Would you know any phone numbers if your phone went down?  Include other vital numbers like your cell provider, power company, repair contacts, employer, doctor, and anyone else who you might need.  If the Internet is down, there are no phone books. 

6)  Personal and family documents: Passports, Social Security cards, appraisals, estate-planning documents (like your Will), Medicare cards, and copies of any prescriptions.  And a bonus, for the truly prepared, and

7) Inventory: I’m not suggesting you compile a complete home inventory.  What I’m suggesting is that you go through your house, room by room, and take pictures. (Do NOT take videos because no adjuster is going to sit and view it; photos are best.) Be sure to include closets and any items of exceptional value, like jewelry. This document will be of immeasurable help if you have to provide an inventory of lost items to an insurance company.

It is, of course, essential to keep this information secure. If an unscrupulous person were to get their hands on a list of your passwords, for example, that could be catastrophic. So, keep any hard copies protected. Copy all this information onto a portable drive, and even better, store copies in a secure online storage location. I like Dropbox, (which is free), but other services, such as Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive, are also good options.  With all this data securely packed away in a travel bag, you can evacuate quickly and feel more prepared.