How do I Take an Inventory of my Property for my Homeowners Insurance?Home Insurance
First off, you should know that you aren’t actually required to take an inventory of everything that you own for your homeowners insurance unless you’re getting a special insurance policy for very expensive items like jewelry or paintings. Taking an inventory of your belongings, though, can make your life much easier in a terrible event like a fire in which you lose everything that you own.
It can seem a little daunting or a little unnecessary to take an inventory of everything you own. You may either think that you own too much to inventory or you don’t own enough to take an inventory. However, neither of these extremes is true, and no matter what you have, you can most certainly take a valid, comprehensive inventory of your belongings. So grab a notepad and pen and a camera, and start walking through your home.
First off, go room by room. This will make your inventory easier to read, and it will allow you to find out what was in a specific room if, for instance, your home is damaged only in certain areas. Your living room might be a good place to start, since it’s likely that some of your bigger items are there, but you can really start anywhere you want.
Make a list of your things, beginning with the big items. In your living room, for example, you may want to begin with your couch, TV, and entertainment center. Since most insurance policies will pay for the actual cash value of your goods at the time the claim is made, you’ll need to write down the name of the piece you’re recording, the price you originally paid for it, and the approximate date on which you bought it. That way, you can account for depreciation more easily.
Once you’ve gotten all the big items in a room, go back and generalize for the smaller ones. You don’t, for instance, need to write down every single DVD you own unless you own a lot of rare or valuable discs but you should count how many you have and approximate how much they would be worth in their current condition.
Next, take either several still photographs or a video walk-around of the room. That way, you can go back to visual images to see anything you might have lost if a disaster ever strikes your home. Follow this process for each room of your home, and then you’ll have a whole room by room inventory of your home. If you buy new furniture or electronics, or if you move homes, be sure to redo this inventory, as your possessions’ worth will change.Home Insurance
Now, be sure that you put your inventory somewhere where you can access it in the event of a disaster. A fire-proof box could be good enough unless you’re also in an area that is prone to flooding or storms that demolish homes. If floods are the issue, get a waterproof safe, and if storms are the problem, consider keeping these documents in your basement or crawlspace. Also, it can be a good idea to make copies of your inventory and let a couple of friends or family members hand onto them for you, just in case.
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