Keep Copies of Critical Documents in Two Places

Passport, ID, insurance policies, birth certificates, property deeds, medical records — scan them all and store copies in both a cloud service and with a trusted relative or in a safe deposit box. In a fire, flood, or theft, replacing originals without any copies is a bureaucratic nightmare that can take weeks or months. Digital copies let you prove your identity and start the recovery process immediately. This is one of those things that takes 30 minutes to do and saves you months of frustration if disaster strikes.