If a fire, burst pipe or break-in hit your home tonight, could you list everything you lost? Most people can’t, and that’s where a home inventory comes in. The Texas Department of Insurance warns that not having one could delay your claim payment, because insurers generally want a record of what was lost or damaged before they pay a personal property claim.
The good news: Consumer Reports says the job takes just a few hours, and your phone does most of the work. Here’s how to do it.
1. Pick a Tool
Check first whether your insurer’s app has a home inventory feature. If not, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) offers a free Home Inventory app for iPhone and Android. It lets you photograph items, group them by room or category, scan barcodes to pull in product details and export the whole list when you need it. A plain spreadsheet plus your camera roll works too.
2. Film Each Room, Then Fill In Details
- Start with a slow 360-degree video. Stand in the middle of each room, turn in a circle and narrate what you see, including roughly what you paid if you remember.
- Open everything. Closets, drawers, cabinets and boxes. Small items add up fast.
- Get close-ups of high-value items. Jewelry, art, electronics, collections, heirlooms and major appliances. Photograph brand names, model numbers and serial numbers so the insurer can replace like with like.
- Don’t skip the garage, shed or basement. Tools, lawn equipment, bikes and sporting goods are easy to forget and expensive to replace.
- Snap receipts and appraisals you still have, and note each item’s approximate age and purchase price.
A shortcut for jewelry: Oregon’s insurance regulator suggests laying similar items out together on a table, taking one photo, then listing each piece with its age and price.
3. Store It Somewhere the Disaster Can’t Reach
An inventory saved only on a laptop in the house can burn with the house. Keep at least one copy off-site: a cloud service like iCloud, Google Drive or OneDrive, an email to yourself, a thumb drive in a safe deposit box, or a copy with a trusted relative. If you already back up your phone properly, your photos may be covered, but export the finished list too.
4. Use It Before You Need It
Nevada’s Division of Insurance points out a bonus: tallying what you own helps you check whether your coverage limit is high enough. Once your list is done, compare it with your policy and ask your agent about any special limits on valuables like jewelry. Then update the inventory once a year, or after any big purchase.
Renters need this as much as homeowners. Your landlord’s policy covers the building, not your stuff.
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