Should you complete a home inventory?
December 29, 2012
Did you know that it’s important to keep an up-to-date list of your belongings? After a catastrophic home loss your goal will be to get fully reimbursed? How is this done? By listing and pricing all the possessions you lost and submitting receipts as you replace items.
- Use photos, family and friends to help you remember and write down a complete inventory of all damaged and destroyed items.
- Use stores and the internet to set a value for every lost item & what it will cost to replace it.
- Consider negotiating a “cash out” settlement at or below your contents policy limits to avoid the painstaking task of reconstructing a complete inventory list.
Putting a dollar value on all the possessions you have accumulated over many years is difficult and can be especially overwhelming and stressful after a major home loss, especially if you are displaced and having to live elsewhere. You will most likely also forget items.
Is there a better way to be prepared? Consider making a personal property inventory. A personal property inventory serves two important functions:
• provides a record of your possessions, and major purchases.
• as a way for you to estimate the adequacy of your present coverage.
Completing a home inventory is something you may not feel you have the time or energy to do and the idea of walking from room to room recording every detail with a pen and pad of paper may not seem realistic which may cause you to put it off until it is too late. In fact, it is estimated that only 1 in 5 households have completed an inventory.
Is there an easier way? Do you own a smart phone or iPhone?
The following apps will help you record all of your home’s belongings and store the information in a password protected account that can be accessed from anywhere, at anytime:
Top Apps for Androids:
1. Home Inventory Organizer ($2.50 – for Android) The Home Inventory Organizer app lets users create and organize a complete inventory of their most valuable items according to room. All you need to do is record the item , take a photo, and once you’re done, you can even email or print a copy of the complete list to send to your insurance agent to keep on file in case of theft or other covered damages.
Top Apps for iPhone:
1. Home Inventory ($4.99 – for iPhone) This inventory app allows the user to enter their data using the iPhone and then automatically synchronizes the data to the master program on their computer. This means there are duplicate copies of everything you own.
2. MyStuff2 ($4.99 – for iPhone) The MyStuff2 app This app will even help you organize and keep track of your music, movie, stamp, book, video game, baseball card collections or keep track of any belongings want o keep an inventory of. You can even record items with a barcode scanner. You can also use their suggested categories or create your own categories to organize your personal items.