One of the biggest problems that arise in the aftermath of huge natural disasters is the slow process of sorting through the wreckage and figuring out how to prove who owns what and how much they should get in compensation for their loss. On a much smaller level, something like a mugging can leave emergency workers struggling to determine identity if the victim has no other ID on them. Well, what if there was a secure way to alleviate the problem?

Enter Emergency File. Inspired by the damage caused by Hurricane Wilma in 2005, lisa Marton developed Emergency File, a USB key that uses a proprietary software to store medical information and electronic copies of important documents (wills, green cards, credit cards, drivers licences, deeds, car registrations, tax returns, pictures of your property before it was damaged, etc.) for when they might be needed, whether it's after a natural disaster to establish to an insurance company that you own your home or after you lost your wallet to be able to contact your credit card company quickly. The software Emergency File uses allows doctors and nurses at hospitals to plug the key into their computers and access your medical information, but protects other sensitive documents have stored on the key with a password.

$59.99 gets you the key and a lanyard to wear around your neck, an additional $39.99 per year allows you to update and access your stored information from anywhere with an internet connection and sync up your USB key from your home computer. Since the company is really pushing the "always on you" USB key idea, you can't have the online access without owning a key, but it seems to me that selling the online access separately might be a good idea for those who want a back up of their information outside of their homes but don't want the burden of carrying a flash drive around their necks.

Via PalmBeachPost.com