Homeowner insurance typically covers the contents of your home up to the limit of your policy. You’ll need to know the contents and their value should you ever need to make a claim as the insurance adjuster will ask you for a list of the items that were damaged or stolen, the age and value of the items. Suddenly having to think of all of that can be daunting to say the least, especially amid a catastrophe. Having an inventory list available is beneficial in many ways, such as:
Purchasing ample insurance. If you don’t have a clear idea of what home contents you have and what they are worth, chances are you may not purchase enough insurance to cover all of them. This could be devastating should you experience a total loss and not have ample insurance.
Filing claims. When disaster strikes, stress levels rise, you’ll have lots of things on your mind and it will be easy to forget things. Having a complete inventory list is one less thing to worry about as you’ll be able to file your claim with ease. By the way, having an inventory to present to the claims adjuster will help speed up the entire process and you’ll receive your claims payout quicker.
Natural disaster financial assistance. If a natural disaster such as hurricanes, floods, etc. occur, you may qualify for disaster financial assistance or tax breaks. Here’s where your home content inventory list will be invaluable in helping to determine if you qualify for those benefits.
These are just a few of the reasons why we’ve created an in-depth home contents inventory form. We’ve taken great pains to make this home content inventory form complete. Should you have items not appearing on the list, note that there are a few blank pages at the end for you to enter your unique items not listed elsewhere. Following are some quick tips to use when filling out your home contents inventory.
- Don’t let it overwhelm you. Inventory one room at a time.
- Record details and serial numbers if applicable.
- Supplement the inventory with photos or videos.
- Scan item receipts if you have them.
- Store your completed inventory list electronically in the cloud or in your email.
- Update the list as you add or get rid of items. Plan to look over the list at least annually.
- Unique items like jewelry, art, antiques, collectible and other high value pieces may need to be appraised and insured separately.
Download your copy of the Home Contents Inventory. And, don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions!
