Regardless of whether you own a home, or condo, or rent an apartment, creating a home inventory is essential for filing insurance claims and ensuring adequate coverage. Chances are that you have quite a bit of stuff, such as clothes, appliances, electronics, kitchen utensils, and many more. You may need to know how to make a home inventory for insurance claims.
Making a home inventory can be a challenging task, but it’s essential to get it right when filing insurance claims. It may prove invaluable if you intend to upgrade or replace your belongings, or even if you want to file a claim. In cases where your belongings are destroyed due to fire, you will need to create a home inventory to file insurance claims.
A home inventory is a list of everything you own in your home. The purpose of making a home inventory is to inform your insurance company about every belonging of yours that was lost in an event. This is needed because you may not be able to tell or remember how many things you have in your home. This write-up contains all the information you need to make a home inventory for insurance claims.
How to Make a Home Inventory for Insurance Claims
It is quite easy to make a home inventory for insurance claims. This section of my write-up contains a step-by-step guide to set you on track while creating a home inventory insurance claim. To make a home inventory for insurance claims, you need to:
Step 1. Find an Easy Place to Begin With:
It can be quite exciting to find out where to begin and how to begin your home inventory process. Instead of staying in an environment that doesn’t allow you to have thinking time, look for a smaller or closed space, like a closet, that allows you to think well.
Step 2. File Current Purchases:
Starting with your closet may be too complex; begin with a recent purchase of any belongings lost in your home.
Step 3. Begin with Basic Details:
There are some basic details that you may need to include for every item in your home inventory. These details may include a slight description, price, or any other characteristics of the item.
Step 4. Take videos or photos:
Anytime possible, take pictures or videos of the items in your home using your phone or digital camera to give you an easier reference. Taking pictures and video recordings of the details of every item, including their close-ups of serial or product numbers, is a good option for your home inventory. It grants you easy access to the details of every item in your home.
Step 5. Document Serial Number:
Having additional details, such as serial numbers and product numbers, is beneficial. They can be used as a reference when filing an insurance claim. Do not forget to include these in your home inventory if possible.
Step 6. Place Your Belongings in Categories
While recording every belonging you own, use categories to consolidate and simplify your belongings. Instead of listing each pair of shoes you own, you can simply list all the shoes you have. To make this easier, you can place them together and take a picture instead of listing each pair of shoes. However, ensure that you make note of all high-value items you own and list them separately.
Step 7. Store receipts:
Your insurance company may request proof that you purchased all these items. This proof will be submitted along with your claim. Ensure that you keep every receipt, sales contract, purchase order, and appraisal.
Step 8. Confirm high-value coverage:
If you own high-value items, ensure your account for their worth in your home inventory. Then, verify with your insurance company that you have sufficient coverage to protect your valuable possessions. However, based on your scheduled personal property coverage, you may be able to list your high-value items separately and insure them.
Step 9. Update as Required:
As you add more purchases and belongings to your collection or replace old items with new ones, you need to update your inventory to keep them updated. You should do this after every purchase monthly to keep your home inventory.
Necessary Items to Add to Your Home Inventory
While making your home inventory, ensure you add the following items:
- Items are in storage.
- Phones.
- Appliances.
- Electronics.
- Furnishing.
- Music instruments.
These items are most often not included in home inventory, and they will not be covered if they are not listed.