A home safe, a safe deposit box or the cloud for your papers

Important papers can be kept in three places: a safe deposit box at a bank, a safe at home, and digital copies. Each suits different papers, and the digital copies keep them within reach during a disaster.

A safe deposit box

Originals of key documents suit a bank box. Birth certificates, property deeds, car titles and paper U.S. Savings Bonds are examples. So are family keepsakes, valuable collections, irreplaceable photos, and pictures or videos of your home's contents for insurance.

A box is storage space, not a deposit account, so its contents aren't covered by FDIC deposit insurance. Banks generally don't insure the contents either. Your homeowners or renters insurance agent can tell you whether your policy covers them. Read the box rental agreement too, since the bank may limit what you can keep in the box.

A home safe

Don't keep anything in a bank box that you might need quickly or when the bank is closed, such as a passport. A home safe can hold replaceable items you may need right away. It isn't as secure as a bank box.

Digital copies

Store copies of important documents on an external drive or in the cloud, so they're easy to reach in a disaster. An emergency kit should hold copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records, saved electronically or in a waterproof, portable container.

What none of them does

No safe deposit box or home safe is completely protected from theft, fire, flood or other damage. Put items in water-safe, zippered plastic bags or other resealable containers. Don't keep the box number or the bank's name on or near the key.

An annotated example

What to do next

List your original documents and where each one is kept now. Move the ones you might need quickly to where you can reach them at any hour. Scan your insurance policies and IDs to a cloud folder or an external drive, and seal anything in a box or safe in resealable plastic bags.