Not legal or financial advice. Ask your insurer, bank, or attorney about your own documents.
What it's for
After a fire or flood, the hard part is often proving who you are and what you had. Ready.gov says having your financial, insurance, medical, and other records on hand is crucial to starting recovery quickly. The go-binder is the Ramrod's job: copies of the papers that matter, a backup you can carry, and a little cash.
Before you need it (practice)
- Make your list using Ready.gov's groups below. Check off what you already have copies of.
- Pick your storage. Ready.gov suggests a safety deposit box, an external drive, or the cloud. We keep paper copies in a fire- and water-resistant pouch and a USB drive in the kit.
- Learn your phone's scanner. Ready.gov notes several phone apps let your camera work as a scanner.
Step by step
1. Gather copies (Ready.gov's list)
- Household ID: photo IDs, birth certificates, Social Security cards (Ready.gov notes these help when applying for FEMA disaster assistance), military service records, pet ID tags.
- Financial and legal: housing payment records, insurance policies, sources of income, tax statements.
- Medical: doctor information, copies of health insurance cards, immunization records, a list of medications.
- Contacts: banks, insurance agents, health professionals, service providers, place of worship.
2. Back them up
- Scan each document.
- Ready.gov says store them on a secure, password-protected jump drive or in the cloud.
- Include your pets' records too (Ready.gov).
- Label the drive, put it in a zip-top bag, and pack it in the pouch.
3. Add cash
Ready.gov advises keeping a small amount of cash at home in a safe place, in small bills, because ATMs and credit cards may not work in a disaster. Our kit lists small bills for this.
4. Add spare keys
Put spare car and house keys on a labeled ring in the kit so anyone in the outfit can drive or get back in.
5. Put it where you'll grab it
The pouch goes with the go-bag by the door. The full paper set can live in the planning binder or a small fire-resistant safe.
Common mistakes
- Originals in the go-bag. Keep copies in the bag and originals somewhere safe.
- A drive with no password. Ready.gov specifies password-protected.
- Only big bills. Ready.gov says small bills.
- Sharing account numbers with callers. Ready.gov warns that scammers target people after disasters, and that the government won't call or text you about owing money. Report impostors to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.
Care & storage
- Update copies when policies renew or IDs change.
- Check the drive opens at each kit rotation.
- Ready.gov also suggests signing up for electronic benefit payments if you receive them, since mail can be disrupted for days or weeks after a disaster.
Related gear
- Fire- and water-resistant document pouch · USB flash drive · Gallon zip-top bags
- Small bills · Key tags · Planning binder · Small fire-resistant document safe
- See also: The Family Meeting and the Planning Binder
- Category: Documents & Cash · Role: Ramrod
Sources
- Ready.gov, "Financial Preparedness" (document list, small bills, scams, storage options, electronic benefits): https://www.ready.gov/financial-preparedness
- Ready.gov, "Get Tech Ready" (password-protected drive or cloud, phone scanning, pet records): https://www.ready.gov/get-tech-ready
- FEMA and Operation HOPE, Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK), linked from: https://www.ready.gov/financial-preparedness
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