How To Take A Home Inventory

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The words Home Inventory typically cause many homeowners to instantly feel overwhelmed, perplexed and/or distressed. Therefore many turn to companies like ours who will document their contents for them or they choose to do nothing at all and ignore the daunting task. The reality is that creating an inventory can be a manageable and quick process if you follow some general rules of thumb.

Identify A Value Level: The key to any inventory is to identify a value benchmark for contents that you want to include on an itemized basis. The benchmark should be determined by items that you would not file a claim against or that you simply would not replace in the event of a loss. For example, only itemize contents that are $500 or $2,000, choose a scenario that works best for you.

This helps to create a focus of what you really need to pay attention to and allows the remaining items to be grouped in a single listing (i.e. kitchen goods, or general sporting goods). This makes the process more manageable.

Itemize & Number: Itemize those items you feel would be above the benchmark value and give each item a number as a reference point for images, documents, scheduled items, etc. The easiest way to do this is to start with your high volume room or rooms with your most valuable assets and write a list of your benchmark items.

Any remaining items in the room can be grouped and listed together such as figurines, bookends, floral arrangements, etc. If you do face a total or larger loss scenario, having a grouped listing of everyday furnishings and home goods should suffice for any claim.

Take Photographs: If you add pictures for the itemized items, write down the image id and for the remaining items, take room level shots that capture all items in the room, typically 4-6 pictures will cover a room.

Documentation: If you have documentation such as invoices, receipts or appraisals, note the inventory number on the corresponding document to help validate replacement values.

Store a Copy Off-Site: Once completed, put your list and any associated images and receipts into a folder and provide a copy to your insurance agent and/or an off site location for safe keeping and quick access in the event of a loss.

The most difficult part is actually starting, but getting a basic list of your most valuable or benchmark items is a great place to start. There are many low cost online solutions available to help in the process including the soon to be released iDocument by Asset Archives.

Whatever you decide, having a basic inventory is extremely important in helping you remember what you lost in the event of a claim, document values and prices for the more valuable items you own and help determine more accurately what your insurance coverage should be for your general contents as well as any items that should be scheduled.

We recommend that you consult with your insurance advisor regarding valuable articles such as jewelry, art or collectibles as these items may warrant an insurance appraisal in addition to having an inventory.

To find out more about why it is important to have a home inventory read our post on 9 Reasons Why You Need a Home Inventory.

Have you attempted to create an inventory of your contents? If so, what process did you find to be most helpful?