Taking a home inventory and the claims process
Taking your inventory can be an excellent way to speed up the claims process and make things run more smoothly in the event of a loss. Completing a home inventory can take some time, but it's worth doing it right. Because, in the event of a loss, it's something you'll be glad you had done in advance.
A free tool to help you do your inventory
The Insurance Information Institute has a valuable and free tool. It's an online program that helps you build a custom home inventory. It allows to to enter just the basic information, or get as detailed as entering serial numbers for each of your items.
Finally, it allows you to print out a complete home inventory with pictures of your house and each room, as well as very organize spreadsheets of items you have in each room and their value. I would highly recommend utilizing this free tool! Home Owner Insurance Inventory
Taking pictures provides a visual representation of your items
It's a great idea to take pictures of the exterior of your home, including any separate buildings like your garage, sheds, etc... Take interior pictures of each of the rooms in your house. Take three or four pictures per room, showing close-ups of the things you own in that section of the room. If you have extra valuable items, like jewelry, money, coins, guns, or art, make sure you have close-up photographs of them. Keep the pictures in your insurance file so you can get to them in an emergency.
Keep your inventory records somewhere else, besides your home
In the event of a major disaster, such as a fire, your home inventory information could be destroyed. Keep a copy of your inventory in safe or at a trusted family members house.
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