Creating A Home Inventory
What is a home inventory and why do I need it? Learn more here.
A home inventory is a valuable thing to have. Here's why you need it and how to create one:
If you are a homeowner or a renter (essentially everyone is one or the other), you probably have personal belongings that you care about. What would happen if your place burned to the ground? Well, if you have homeowners insurance, your policy will automatically cover you for a blanket amount that is usually about half of what your house would cost to rebuild. For example, if you have a $400,000 house, your insurance will cover your personal belongings for about $200,000.
What do we mean by personal belongings? This would be the stuff you take with you if you moved. This is what you load into your moving truck. That is your bedroom cabinet, and the clothes you keep in it. Your TV and the old DVDs on the shelf collecting dust.
If your house burns down, or a thief cleans you out when you go on vacation, you are going to turn in a claim and your adjustor will ask you to provide them with a list of what you lost. Are you going to remember everything? Probably not.
What you should do is set aside some time to go around your house and take pictures or video of everything. For those things that you really want to replace with exactly what you had, you should take a picture of the serial and model number. You will want to save those pictures online in a cloud storage space, as opposed to putting them on a memory card, so you do not lose them. A written inventory is a good secondary option. If you prefer to have a written inventory, check out this printable home inventory checklist. We still recommend that you keep it on the cloud or in a fireproof safe.
Even though your policy usually has a high limit to the amount they will cover for your stuff, you also need to be aware of the lower limits for certain items like guns and jewelry. This practice of doing an inventory will also help you realize how much you have in these limited categories. If your insurance only covers $5,000 worth of jewelry or $1,000 per piece, you will want to speak with your agent about getting a “rider” to cover you properly if you have more than that.
Hopefully nothing ever happens to you and that you will never be faced with a situation where you lose those things that you need and cherish, but if you do, you will want to be prepared properly to help put the pieces back together. Do an inventory and update it once a year or so. Hopefully you will never need it but if you do, you'll be glad you have it.
