As hurricane season kicks off and wildfires remain a threat in drier regions of the U.S., emergency preparedness is a concern for countless homeowners and renters.

Here’s an important piece of advice for those at risk: Essential documents should be placed in a safe and easily accessible place.

 “All of your materials should be put in a little portable fire proof safe kind of box, small enough that you can pick it up and grab it and run with it, and fire-proof in case something happens when you’re not at the home,” said Celia Hayhoe, a family resource management specialist with Virginia Cooperative Extension.

Hayhoe said there are three essential categories of documents every family should have with them in a time of crisis. 

No.1  Insurance Information

“It’s whatever insurance you have,” said Hayhoe. “It’s life, medical, fire--basically any kind of insurance you’ll need when processing a claim, as well as the name of the agent, how to get a hold of them, and all your policy numbers.

“When it comes to [insurance] documents, they are really easy to keep, so there is no reason not to do it,” said Scott McCormick, program manager of Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters (CARD). 

“You can photocopy them, or simply write down key information on another sheet of paper if you feel you may not need the whole document.” 

Key information to keep handy is account information, policy number, what type of insurance it is, and the given amount the home or item is insured for.

Photographs may also be valuable items to include with insurance information, McCormick said. “You can take photographs of the things you are protecting, both to show what it was, and what condition it was in,” he said.

No. 2 Birth and Marriage Certificates

“With birth and marriage certificates, you can get almost any other document you need to get” such as a passport, said Hayhoe. 

Another reason to keep marriage certificates around is for visiting purposes at hospitals. “There are legal benefits to hanging onto a marriage certificate, but some of the benefits are as simple as making sure loved ones and spouses are allowed to come into the hospital and visit people in the event of an illness or injury,” McCormick said.

“Our system tends to depend on a birth certificate,” McCormick added. “If you have a legitimate birth certificate, you can recover other forms of identification from there. Replacing a driver’s license, while that can be difficult, is much much easier than replacing birth certificate.”

It’s also smart to keep divorce papers and military discharge information on hand, if possible, she said.

No. 3 Bank Account Information

“Money is the first thing you’re going to need,” said Hayhoe. Items to include in an emergency box might include an extra checkbook, a bank statement or anything that has information as to how the account is titled and the account number.

Keeping banking files on an external computer drive or a disk might also be an option, according to McCormick. However, if you’re worried you might be in a situation where you don’t have access to computers, McCormick said paper is just as good.

Other important items to keep stored securely are numbers for your doctor, lawyer, and children’s school. McCormick said not everyone will have access to a waterproof or fire proof lock box, and that’s okay. A plastic plastic bag that seals will serve just as well when evacuating a disaster area. The important thing is not the disaster itself, but how quickly you can recover from it.

“Recovery systems are in place, what’s important is your ability to connect to them after a disaster,” McCormick said. “These documents will be your bridge back to normalcy, recovery and security. There is a tremendous psychological importance to being able to take control and start to fix things.”