What’s your personal disaster plan?
Where are your important documents?

We live in a country where floods and fires are common and where you may not have much notice that such events are imminent.


Property fires can develop and engulf a house within minutes and building faults can result in significant water damage in a very short time.


Research has shown that most families and a large percentage of small businesses do not have any form of disaster plan in place 1.



A personal disaster plan would involve the following:

• Decide with your family the most important things to be rescued.
  The usual order is family, pets and photos. Anything else can usually be replaced.
  
  

• Allocate roles and responsibilities to everyonein the case of a disaster.
  Everyone should know where to gather; and know how to get out of the property if normal exits are blocked.
  
  

• Back up photos and music.
  There are readily available internet based services and these are inexpensive and, once set up, automatic.
  
  

• Store originals of important documentssomewhere off-site; and scanthe copies on to a backup.
  These may includeWills, Enduring Powers, Title Deeds, mortgage papers and insurance policies
  
  

• Set up a list of important contacts and passwords and store them with the above documents.
  
  

• Load a USB drive with the contact and password list (put an easily remembered password on the file) and keeping it with you at all times.
  
  

• Create an evacuation box and keeping it in a specified, easily accessible location known to everyone in the family.
  It should not be moved from this location except for a regular review and refreshing of its contents. Suggested contents are copies of all the above listed papers in sealed plastic bags; laminated copies of prescriptions for regular medications; a laminated copy of important phone numbers (but not your passwords!); a wind-up torch (readily available from the supermarket); a small radio and a supply of batteries; a basic first aid kit.
  
  

There are a number of business disaster recovery plan templates available on the internet and many consultants specialise in this area. As a minimum you should consider the following:

• Backup your computers to an offsite location.
  A computer backup is no use in a disaster if it is kept in the same place as the main data. Internet-based, automatic backup services are readily available and are inexpensive.
  
  

Use a Document Management System (“DMS”) to scan all business documents and keep them in computer files which are backed up as part of your automated processes.

• Keep important original documents off-site in secure storage.
  Documents such as mortgage documents, trust deeds, corporate registers and signed agreements should not only be scanned into your DMS but kept off-site in secure storage.
  
  

• Consider business interruption insurance to cover the cost of setting up new premises and re-establishing computer records.
  
  

Whilst the above suggestions are by no means comprehensive they could form the foundation of your family’s and your business’s ability to recover quickly if fire, flood or other disaster strikes.


For full details of a comprehensive secure document storage service that will give you complete PEACE OF MIND for less than 37 cents per day contact:



StoreMyDocs Pty Ltd, PO Box 2149, Subiaco, WA 6904 Australia

Email: team@storemydocuments.com.au
Or call Julie on 1300 564 997

Source
1Sensis Business Index - December 2013 (page 5) -" 53% of small businesses have no plans in place to deal with business discontinuity"


Important information
This article contains information that is general in nature. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. You need to consider your personal, business and possibly financial situation and needs before making any decisions based on this information.

 

 

P: 1300 564 997
E. team@storemydocuments.com.au

 

W. www.storemydocuments.com.au

 

PO Box 2149
Subiaco 6904

 

 

 

For further information please contact Store my Docs Pty Ltd on phone 1300 564 997 or email team@storemydocuments.com.au

 

 

Store My Docs Pty Ltd, PO Box 2149, Subiaco 6904 WA

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