We live in a society that are full of documents and paper trails and records, be it in private hands or in the public domain. At the end of the day, these records needs to be protected from all forms of perils, let it be from theft, fire or water or other kinds of accidental occurrences. However, a lot of people underestimate the importance of the various documents they have on hand because they believe that it is either replaceable, recoverable and they can obtain it back from public or company business records. This is far from the truth, the fact is that the cost or the opportunity cost of replacing or recovering these documents far outweighs the cost of protecting with a proper fireproof storage container or fire and waterproof safe. Below we will go through some examples of documents that you may have on hand and the cost of replacing or recovering them if they were damaged or gone up in ash in a fire!
(1) Bank statements and financial records
These are the relatively simpler records that could be obtain from the bank or relevant financial institutions, and more often or not, those that use online banking have already done away from paper records. However, if you have any relevant information written down, they should be protected or otherwise, it may be difficult for you to recall necessary access, which may cause a fair bit of hassle to obtain again
(2) Insurance policies
More often or not, these documents need to be kept on hand as they would be needed for claims in the event of accidents. However, not properly protecting is going to cause a fair bit of trouble when you need these policies. When filing for claims with insurance companies, they will ask for a lot of information that are contained in these documents, including policy numbers, names, type of policy used and they also contain a lot of details regarding the extent of claims allowed in your insurance policy. Having to go through the process of obtaining these policies or copies of these policies is going to delay and prolong the damage process that one is going through when an accident has happened.
(3) Title deeds and historic records
These are one of the most important records or documents that people keep on file. Those whom have access to a bank safety deposit box may choose to put it there but more often or not, these are stored at home. These documents are extremely valuable to the title holder but not susceptible theft but getting them destroyed in fire can be irreplaceable or extremely costly to obtain back the documents. The cost involved includes both time and money, especially if records involve overseas institutions and the process of proving ones identity and ownership will be tedious and can drive one insane.
The above are just examples of how costly it can be to recover damage or destroyed documents, in both time and money. Also, there is the emotional turmoil that comes with losing records and going through the process of replacing them (if they are replaceable) or if irreplaceable, the deep regret of not having them protected properly in the first place. Weighing on both sides of the scale, the cost of getting a proper fireproof storage that can protect from the perils of fire and added benefits of water protection far outweighs the consequences of not being protected. It is like an insurance policy or a dental plan, you have one but would not want to have an accident but you would want to be able to have one to help out when a claim is needed. Therefore, being prepared with a fireproof safe is the best solution in protecting what matters most.
Post time: Oct-07-2021
