Imagine that all your belongings are destroyed in a house fire or a major catastrophe like a hurricane. Fortunately, you have insurance. Now it is time to file a claim and get reimbursed, you have to make a list of everything you lost. How many of your belongings would you be able to remember? It is the homeowners responsibility to provide your insurance company with a list of items and their condition that was destroyed from water, wind, fire or even theft. Relying on your ability to remember every single piece can be a tragedy on top of tragedy during an emotional and difficult loss.
The time to do it is when you first take out your policy but if you already have your policy in place, it is a perfect time to start. Once it is completed and you obtain the approximate dollar amount, you will also be able to assess if you have enough coverage for your personal property or if you are over insured.
How to create a home inventory
Start by taking a video and pictures that can easily be done with your smart phone. Be sure to zoom in on high- value items and to open drawers. There are many home inventory apps available to upload your images and record details such as serial numbers. Receipts are also very important. As you put together your inventory, it is important to include details to maximize your settlement.
The List
Begin your list by documenting each room separately, ie, Living Room, Bedroom, etc, You can do this with a pen and paper but there are many great excel templates and resources available.
Once it is complete and checked, be sure to keep it safe and accessible in a storage platform such as iCloud, or Dropbox. Your list should be updated every year with the renewal of your policy or on June 1st which is the start of hurricane season. You will also want to update it with any major purchase or remodel.
Putting together a home inventory is an investment of time that seems daunting but ask anyone who has been through a major claim and they are sure to say that they wish they had done it beforehand.