Preparing to Recover

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:
1. Gather property insurance papers (home,
auto, boat, etc.) and make copies.

2. Gather health insurance papers (medical
provider, dental provider, life, extended
disability, etc.) and make copies.

3. Gather financial papers (bank, investment,
retirement, etc.) and make copies.

4. Gather wills, powers of attorney, and estate
papers and make copies.

5. Take photos or videos of all valuables as
documentation for insurance claims.

• store these copies and photos in a safe
deposit box, or in a ziplock bag in your
freezer (you may want to disguise these
documents by putting them in a clean box
like a frozen pizza box).