Financial Wellness
Stay Ready for Anything: Building Your Home Inventory
Having a home inventory ready can be a real lifesaver when you need it most.
It makes dealing with insurance claims a lot easier and helps you get accurate assessments so you can get the full value of your items. It's worth taking the time to list your personal items and their values before anything goes wrong. Then if a disaster occurs—whether from a fire, theft, or storm—you'll be glad you took the time to catalog your belongings.
It makes dealing with insurance claims a lot easier and helps you get accurate assessments so you can get the full value of your items. It's worth taking the time to list your personal items and their values before anything goes wrong. Then if a disaster occurs—whether from a fire, theft, or storm—you'll be glad you took the time to catalog your belongings.
Go through all your rooms
Begin with a room-by-room inventory.Take note of each item, paying close attention to their condition and any purchase details for valuables. Don't forget to check all storage areas, like closets, garages, storage lockers, sheds, and utility rooms.
While you do need to gather a lot of information for a home inventory, the process isn't as tedious as you might think. You can walk through each room with a notebook. But better yet—make things easier by using an app. Some popular choices include Sortly, HomeZada, Centriq, NAIC Home Inventory App, and Encircle.
Plenty of apps let you scan barcodes, snap photos, and tag different rooms. Just pick a method that works for you and stick with it for easy updates down the road.
Log details of important possessions
When taking down the contents of each space—focus on high-value items like antiques. electronics, appliances, and collectibles.Take down all the details about these items and take close-up photos or videos for documentation. A video walkthrough can be an effective way to capture the condition and details of your valuables.
Be complete
Include detailed records for each item: make, model, serial number, price, purchase date, and receipts.Store your records securely by keeping digital copies in the cloud, on an external drive, or in a fireproof safe. Keeping both digital and physical versions ensures protection in any situation. For added security, keep a physical copy off-site—such as at a relative's home or in a safe deposit box.
Stay current
Keep your inventory updated. Whenever you buy new items or get rid of things you no longer need, make sure you update your inventory to match.Review your inventory every six to 12 months to make sure you're always covered. And if you add more items, don't hesitate to have a conversation with your insurance agent to adjust your coverage.
Making a claim
If something goes wrong and you have to file a claim, your inventory will be invaluable. Sharing this record with your insurer can speed things up and relieve a lot of stress during a tough time. You'll have an easy way to show what you owned and its value, making the whole claims process smoother.Resources: Higginbotham, HomeServe, the Insurance Information Institute, Hippo Holdings Inc., UWIBRisk
