The image above is just a preview, to watch the video scroll to the bottom of the post.
When I advise MacMedics customers in the shop, I find myself going back to this blog post from www.younghouselove.com over and over when advising folks on backups: 9 Things We Wished We Did Before Our House Burned Down. Be sure to check thier post as well, as they have updated thier post as well. One new tip they offer is if you have hard wired smoke/C02 dectectors be sure to back them up with battery powered ones as well.
I’ve posted a recap with some of my thoughts emphasizing backups and insurance. We deal with clients almost every day who have lost their data by way of hard drive failure, but lots of other clients, some of whom were even backed up, have lost their data in some other way. Even if you don’t make it over to www.younghouselove.com, please take a minute to read these highlights with some MacMedics tips:
1. Subscribe to an online data backup service (The writer of the original story says: My external backup drive sat right next to my laptop in my office (which burned down!)). I like BackBlaze! Use our affiliate link for a free trial offer: https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup.html#af9wuu
Update 12/26/2025:
We recently helped a customer from one of our on-site consulting customers where they had a company-issued Apple laptop from a major healthcare company and we had all of the corporate data on the laptop backed up, but this customer was also working on two different books at the same time, and those books were not included in the corporate backups. Unfortunately, just a few days before the holidays. This customer’s house caught on fire, and it was almost 100% lost in terms of belongings. The fire was bad enough that the computer was burnt and it had the computer’s Space Grey finish peeling from the MacBook Pro 16-inch, and this customer did in fact also have an external hard drive serving as a Time Machine backup. In the fire, the Time Machine backup, because it was made from plastic, was totally melted and was destroyed. We were able to get the dead MacBook Pro to turn on after working on repairing the logic board (which has an embedded hard drive), and we got a full backup of the data. This was a VERY close call, and if I could not recover the data, this could have been a $4000 data recovery. This is why you need to add an off-site backup to your backup plan. I recommend Backblaze (see my link below).
If you are writing a book, master’s thesis, or working on a PhD, you really need FIVE layers of backups of that important work.
- Time Machine
- iCloud Drive or Dropbox
- Backblaze Cloud backup
- A second Time Machine that is not located at your primary location.
- A rugged and waterproof USB thumb drive that is password protected that you always keep with you.
Here is the video from that case:
2. Keep passports in a safe deposit box.
MacMedics Pro Tip: Make copies as well and store a digital copy in your new online backup service too! Dropbox might be a good place. Also, when traveling, copy medical documents, driver’s license, passport, and other files you might need onto an encrypted and password-protected water-proof thumb drive AND haveput copies of ALL of this on your iPhone as well. Create a seperate password protected folder that is apart from your Apple Photos library. Also, a fire-proof safe is a great way to protect youself. In a recent case it was not the fire that damaged my customer’s Mac, it was the water from putting out the fire! A MacMedics customer also pointed out that a $10 .30 or .50 Cal Ammo Box is water proof and a great way to store an extra Time Machine hard drive and other important stuff.
3. Take pictures of each room initially and update them as improvements are made (storing them somewhere offsite – like Flickr).
4. Take pictures and keep web links to all expensive purchases, including jewelry.
5. Hire an architect (my dad in our case) or use floorplanner.com to document each floor layout along with precise wall/ceiling measurements, each outlet, light switch, crown molding, other trim, type of flooring, any unique items to the structure of the property.
MacMedics Pro Tip: When you rebuild, the insurance company will try to pay the lowest amount by building things as basic as possible. By having a detailed floor plan with engineering plans and pictures of each wall, you can force them to build it the way it was!
1/11/23 Update a customer who had her 1800’s farmhouse burn down said also to have Code-Upgrade insurance as well. When it’s rebuilt, the insurance company must build it to the current code!
6. Put phones in a consistent place each night. [MacMedics Pro Tip: iPhone is right there 24/7!]
7. Get fire ladders for any second-floor bedrooms.
8. Scan each photo and receipt of any item that you buy, again keeping them offsite, or on an online data backup service.
9. Do not be frugal with homeowner’s insurance. Spend the extra $50 per year for the most coverage. [MacMedics Pro Tip: Highly recommended! Buy a replacement policy rider for anything you have that is valuable. If your $3000 camera or computer system burns up, it will be hard to get the full amount. Insurance might pay $500 to $1000. Also, see SafeWare.com for computer insurance. If you don’t own your home, get renter’s insurance. Its super cheap! Clothes are also not fully covered by most policies. If you had to replace every piece of clothing your family owns, that could cost you $10,000. Insurance will not cover all of that.]
10. MacMedics Pro Tip: If you house does burn down, have a PODS container or shipping container delivered ASAP! In the video below, this customer was staying in a nearby hotel and looters took stuff from his fire damaged house!
