How would you feel if you had to leave your home immediately and leave everything behind?
Are you able to access your important legal documentation away from your home?
It’s a very real possibility that at any time there could be a situation which results in us having to pick up and leave our home without notice in the event of an emergency. Some scenarios would result in us not being able to return to our home for an indefinite period.
It’s constantly advised by Emergency Services to keep a kit with basic items such as a torch, candles, a radio, batteries, bottled water etc. for when storm season rolls around each year to accommodate situations such as power loss.
However – we should also consider an “extended” Emergency Kit that holds additional items including copies of important documentation such as proof of identification, legal documents, insurance policies & medical records. These can be either in paper or saved on a USB - perhaps both!
Whilst it seems like a time consuming task to compile the kit – in the event of evacuation where you may not be able to return to your home for an uncertain period of time, this kit will help avoid many headaches and inconveniences.
The below is a link to an Emergency Kit Checklist which covers the “Essentials” as well as the extra items suggested for storm season.
In addition, I encourage you to also review the below "Prepare Your Emergency Plan" link and discuss with your family. Our workplaces will generally have a protocol in place for emergencies - so why don't we all have something similar for at home to protect our loved ones?
Everyone in your family should know where the kit is kept as you never know who will grab it in an emergency. Of course in the event of a fire emergency it is absolutely a priority to make sure everyone is safely out of the house beforehand.
Remember, preparing your family as best as you can in the event of one of these situations will be invaluable. So set aside some time to sit down and start putting your household Emergency Plan and Emergency Kit together … don’t put it off and wish you did.
Kate Koric
Director | Senior Broker
Image Credit: www.lifehack.org
Checklist Credit: www.getready.qld.gov.au