If disaster strikes! Are you prepared ??
The month of July is the month of filing income tax return for salaried individuals. Be it the recent Floods of Kerela , or July 05 Rain Fury in Mumbai… or January, 2001 – the Gujarat Earthquake or December, 2004 Tusnami effecting south eastern coast of our country.
Many lost their valuables, homes of many were destroyed, and the worst of all, some also lost lives or limbs.
What are the 7 steps one needs to take care of Disaster Management for families
- There is protection available in form insurance for such kind of tragedies which one should take to ensure that at least financial loss is at least partly covered, if not fully. Emotional Loss, however can never be compensated.
- Keeping a record book of your valuable Assets both in physical form and electronic formats can be of immense utility.
- Instant Liquidity : This is the urgent need. In case of a major loss, the money in bank could be the first source of instant cash. The good part is, since the bank also maintains the books of accounts, your money in the bank will be available for withdrawal with a signature – Having joint holdings in most of the account can be very helpful
- Most traditional investments come with a certificate of ownership, It could be a good idea, to keep photocopies of all such documents and store the same at a place other than your residence like bank locker and also with a very close & trusted relative/friends place, maybe residing in another city then yours. On the other hand, there are some investments, e.g. shares and mutual funds, where you do not need a physical certificate of ownership. The ownership gets reflected in an electronic statement. Please note – It is important to convert your physical shares into demat form at the earliest. For this a well kept record book of your assets can be very helpful.
- One needs to get the important documents like Electronically scanned –like assets record book, FD Certificates -PPF/Bank pass books, Insurance Polcies & property & vehicles Ownership documents, etc – and store the files on some computer hard disk & mail them to all family members & store them on cloud.
- It is always a good idea that the members of your family are aware of the investments and insurance.
- Finally – always have a will made !!
This week’s Fisdom :
Just like it is our moral responsibility to create and manage wealth, similarly it is of paramount importance to keep family prepared for any disaster management !
With such precautions, you could be better prepared if the disaster strikes. Remember, fortune favors the prepared.
This post is courtesy one of my mentors – Amitbhai Trivedi..