AbstractFlood, fire, tornado, hurricane. Whatever the cause, natural or man‐made, the result on an organization can be devastating. Planning and preparation for disaster must include significant attention to disaster recovery. The ability to produce documentation of what existed, what was damaged, recovery costs and income losses will be essential to the claims adjustment process. This article discusses strategies for creating a historical record, leveraging contemporaneous incident command documentation and working with contractors to identify and record disaster‐related expenses.