How Do I Take a Home Inventory and Why

Natural disasters, burglary, damage, and fire are some of the ways in which you could lose your possessions or have them damaged.  It’s very unlikely that you would be able to remember all of the possessions that you own if they were completely destroyed or stolen.  This is why it is so important to take a home inventory and keep it up-to-date, so that if you have to file an insurance claim, that you can do so quickly and accurately report what you lost.

The best format for creating a home inventory is a format that you can update easily and will be easy to retrieve if your home is completely destroyed.  The purpose of this inventory is to make sure that you receive payment from your insurance for everything that you lose if you file a claim.

Keeping a home inventory that you can access electronically via the web is a great way to ensure that you will be able to verify your losses in the event of a claim and is also useful for making sure that you have an adequate level of insurance for your possessions.

What information you should store

There are a few websites and/or software options that are designed to make keeping a detailed inventory of your possessions really easy.  Along with descriptions of what you own, you will want to make sure that you have photos of as many of your possessions as possible, along with photos of any serial numbers if possible.  If you have a video camera, you can simply walk through your home and just take video of everything by filming every room.  Along with your descriptions of each item, you should try to list where you purchased each item and any make or model if applicable.  Additionally, you should save any receipts, purchase orders, or appraisals that you have for your items, and then scan them electronically if possible.