By John Flood

joe hu/town crier Los Altos resident Sherie Dodsworth shows her new product, the Securita Vital Records PortaVault. The PortaVault is a binder that holds important documents such as passports, birth certificates and insurance paperwork.

In the background of our busy lives, we rely on vital records: insurance policy numbers, doctors’ phone numbers, bank account and credit card numbers. Everyone has a technique to keep this information at hand. The trouble is, most of us file this information in willy-nilly fashion.

What do you do if a major disaster forces you from your home? You might have five minutes to grab your clothes. What personal records do you take? Would you know where to find them?

Sherie Dodsworth of Los Altos thought about these questions, then developed a product that addresses this unmet market need and formed Securita Inc. to support it.

“After I saw victims of Hurricane Katrina being evacuated with nothing but the clothes on their backs, I realized how unprepared many people are when a disaster strikes,” Dodsworth said. “The thought of gathering and organizing important documents can be overwhelming.”

Dodsworth, the CEO of Securita, developed a binder, Vital Records PortaVault, that provides a step-by-step process to organize important documents like tax returns, birth certificates, Social Security cards, wills, medical and banking information.

The lightweight canvas portfolio, complete with handle and shoulder strap, can store hundreds of pages of paper documents and records, as well as information on CDs and DVDs. It includes a zippered pouch that holds cash, keys and small keepsakes and features a water-resistant cover and glow-in-the-dark identification tag.

Dodsworth is a CPA and the former CFO of InsWeb Inc., an online insurance products company. She is chairwoman of Borel Bank.

“The PortaVault also creates a wonderful opportunity to discuss financial and other issues among family members and with elderly parents,” Dodsworth said. “The PortaVault creates peace of mind from having your most important documents readily accessible and is a gift to your extended family in case of an emergency.”

It comes with a series of preprinted, color-coded labels that correspond to a series of category dividers: Planning & Contacts, Identification & Family Records, Health & Medical, Finance & Property, Insurance and Estate Planning & Taxes. Documents are placed into plastic record protectors that can be inserted into the appropriate section in the three-ring binder.

PortaVault provides additional information for consumers such as how to obtain records and information from public entities, a form to inventory household possessions, preprinted health history cards including prescription information, an emergency planning guide and family communications plan cards, which list phone numbers and emergency meeting places.

“I founded Securita to educate people about the proactive steps they can take in advance of an emergency and to be more organized and productive each day,” Dodsworth said.

The PortaVault sells for $49.95 and can be purchased at www.securitaonline.com.

For more information, call (888) 279-1956.