Why We Think You Should Really Create a Home Inventory

If you had to guess, out of all the things in your home, how many items do you know the value of? What about when you bought it? Do you still have the receipt for it? If that item was lost in a fire, flood, earthquake, or theft, would you remember it?

Luckily, there’s an easy solution to these questions – a home inventory. A home inventory is a great way that all your items – especially the valuable, irreplaceable ones – are accounted for in the case that they are lost or stolen. What are the benefits of a home inventory? Already having a home inventory completed in the event of a loss speeds up the insurance claim process because you won’t have to spend much time at all creating an inventory after the damage has been done – you’ve already done it! Additionally, it can maximize your claim payment because all your belongings will be accounted for. This decreases the chance of leaving an item off in the stress of a loss happening.

Creating a home inventory is a simple process. It can be as easy as writing a list on a notebook, taking pictures or a video on your phone, or using a home inventory app, such as BluePlum Home Inventory or MyStuff2 Pro.

What information should you include about the items in your inventory? You should include a description of the item, including the make, model, and serial number, if necessary, an estimated value of the item, the purchase date, and receipts if you have them. Your inventory can include items big and small. From your TV to your sofa and coffee table, things like your kitchen appliances, and even smaller items like books, knickknacks, and artwork.

While doing your home inventory, you can take advantage of the opportunity to look at high value items in your home, like artwork and jewelry. Are they properly insured? When was the last time you had them appraised or the policies overviewed? This is a great time to re-evaluate the protection on these items. This is also a great time to clean out items in your house that haven’t been used in a while or you maybe don’t need anymore.

All in all, putting together a home inventory is a great step to make sure that your items are covered and accounted for. It helps to make sure that in the case of a loss of these items, you can quickly replace what you’ve lost. And as always, if there are any questions we can answer, please feel free to give us a call.