Imagine your home catches on fire. You only have enough time to make sure everyone gets their grab-and-go bag (hopefully you and every family member, including pets, have an emergency grab-and-go bag) and make it outside. Your home is now a complete loss and all of your items in your home are gone.
You and your family are now temporarily living at a hotel. Everyone in your family is emotional, stressed, and feeling out of place. You now have a never-ending “to-do list” and submitting your homeowner’s (or renter’s) insurance claim is at the top of that list.
While filing your claim, you will be asked to submit a home inventory. Do you know the brand or make and model of your TV? How about the serial number for your blender? Can you recall the date you purchased your mattress? Do you know how many DVDs/Blu-Rays you have and their titles?
Trying to list every personal item that your family had in your home from memory is impossible. Stress, anxiety, and grief can cloud your memory making it extremely difficult to ensure you have listed every important piece of personal property on your insurance claim. This can create more frustration in what possibly might be the most stressful time in your life and can cost you money in the long run.
Now imagine you are in the same situation – except you have an up-to-date home inventory. Having a current home inventory in place before a total loss ensures that your claim is filed promptly and completely which means your claim will get settled quickly and accurately and could save you a world of heartache during a difficult time.
If you read my first post “Who Is The Survival Lady” or my “About Dani” page on my website then you know about my family’s story. On April 19, 2021, the apartment building that my husband and I were living in burned down, we lost everything. At the time, I didn’t have a home inventory and I was in the process of building grab-and-go bags for each family member (every day I am thankful that I had at least the basics in our grab-and-go bags).
I can’t imagine how much easier everything would have been if we had had a home inventory at the time. If you end up only taking one thing away from this post, I hope it’s that a home inventory is a necessary thing to have. At the end of this post, you can download my home inventory template.
What is a home inventory?
According to the Insurance Information Institute, “A home inventory is simply a list of your possessions along with their estimated financial value”. A home inventory should include ALL of your personal property kept at your house. You can create a written inventory, a digital inventory, or a visual inventory.
There are two different entry types you should use when creating/updating your home inventory: detailed item and simple item entry.
Your detailed item entry should include the following:
Title each entry with an entry number/name of the item
Item description
Quantity
Make & model the item
Serial/ID/Product numbers
Price you paid
Condition of item
Location of purchase
Date purchased
Appraisals at the time of purchase (if it’s an expensive item)
Picture of item
Estimated replacement cost if to purchase the item today
Additional information to add if you have it:
Receipt
Payment method
Warranty Info
Your simple item entry should include the following:
Item number/short description
Quantity
Size (if applicable)
Brand(s)
Price
Why Do You Need A Home Inventory?
A home inventory is beneficial for everyone, whether you are a renter or a homeowner. They can be used for several different important uses.
Examples of how your home inventory can help you:
A home inventory can help when filing a claim with your insurance company after a loss: If your items are destroyed in a house fire or stolen from your home or car, your homeowner insurance can help pay to replace your items, depending on how much coverage you have. You would file a claim with your insurance company – which can take a long time if you are not properly prepared.
When you make a claim, you typically submit information on everything that was lost. When you have your home inventory list, you know exactly what needs to be replaced and you will have peace of mind knowing that all of your family’s household items are protected.
You can use your home inventory to determine if you have adequate coverage for your items under your homeowner (or renters) insurance: Many people find out after a loss that they didn’t have enough coverage on their policy or that they should have gone with replacement cost coverage. After you complete your home inventory add up all of your items’ replacement cost amount, that is how much you would need to replace all of your items today. Compare that number to your personal property amount.
A home inventory can help verify losses on your income tax return or when applying for financial assistance: After a catastrophe, the only way to determine if you qualify for a tax break or disaster assistance is to substantiate your financial losses. A current well-organized home inventory can be a useful tool in this process.
For my home inventory “Ask an Agent” I spoke with Julie Martin. Julie Martin is the agency owner of J Martin Insurance Agency. Julie has been an insurance agent for 7 years and she has owned her agency for over a year.
Question: In your experience as an insurance agent, is it important to have an up-to-date home inventory?
Answer: Yes! Having a home inventory is essential for many reasons including peace of mind after a claim (so you don’t have to remember everything you own and fill out a bunch of paperwork) during a stressful and emotional time. No matter what the cause of your loss is, it will be extremely difficult to deal with.
A home inventory can also be beneficial while preparing your taxes as it will help you know exactly where your receipts are.
I advise my clients to at minimum take a video of each room in their home and update it at least annually.
Thank you, Julie!
Creating Your Home Inventory
The very first and important thing you need to know about creating your home inventory is: this is a project that you will not and should not finish in one day. This is a project you will want to take your time on, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself or you will get information wrong or possibly get frustrated and not finish your home inventory. Follow the steps I have outlined below to create your home inventory stress-free.
Before you start inventorying your items, you need to decide what type of home inventory will work best for you. Will a written, digital, or visual inventory work best for you?
What’s the difference?
Written inventory: You can use a spreadsheet or use a home inventory template. You write out each item and include the required information (see list above)
A digital inventory: You can download an app onto your phone or tablet (some are free). With the mobile home inventory, you would upload a picture/video of each item and add in the required information (see list above)
A visual inventory: You can record a video doing a walk-through of your home showing each item. You will want to gather the necessary info before you record. That way you can share the required information (see list above) while recording the item.
Once you have chosen what type of home inventory style you are going to use you are ready to get started. (You can download my home inventory list template at the end of this blog post)
Before you start your home inventory, you need to decide what type of home inventory will work best for you. Will a written, digital, or visual inventory work best for you?
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
Supplies needed to store your home inventory:
Binder
Dividers
Files (one for each room)
Accordion file
Portable file box
Other supplies you will need:
Something to write with (pen and/or pencil)
Scratch paper
Binder Pencil Pouch
Envelopes
Your camera (or cell phone with a camera)
USB Drive
Don’t forget to gather the template you are going to use for your inventory
Step 2: Make a plan
The best way to take an inventory of your home is to record one room at a time. Map out the order you plan to inventory each room by creating folders (physical or digital). Pick a room or two for each day you plan on working on your inventory. Don’t forget to include your closets, attack, basement, garage, storage shed, and any other spots you have personal property – you must inventory all of your items.
Pick a spot to start in each room, for example, the left wall with anything hanging on the wall, and then go out from there. It can be overwhelming to take an inventory of all your items, especially if you don’t have a plan.
Step 3: List Each Item
In the first room on your plan start listing your items. Make sure you list everything in the room – electronics, appliances, furniture, decorations, artwork, clothing (i.e. shirts, jeans, socks), accessories, decorations, hobby items, heirlooms, linens, etc. Assign each item a number (the easiest way to do that is to go by entry number) while you are listing them. The first thing on your entry should be the item/entry number and a very short description of the item. That way you can easily match pictures, receipts, and any other documents you have.
Step 4: Add Notes
Make sure that you include important information about the item and the purchase details, especially for your more expensive items/valuable items. You are going to have more information for items like your laptop or tv vs your towels or socks. I suggest having two types of entries: a simple item entry and a detailed item entry. See an example entry of both types of entries below.
Detailed Item Entry
If an item is worth more than $100 (or if it is extremely valuable to you) then it should be entered as a detailed item entry. When entering a detailed item entry remember to add as many details as you can.
What to include with a detailed item entry
Item number/short description
Full item description
Quantity
Make/Model
Serial/ID/Product/SKU number
Size (if applicable)
Store item was purchased from
Date purchased
Price paid
Today’s price
Appraisals at the time of purchase (expensive items)
Picture of item
Receipt (if possible)
Payment Method (if possible)
Warranty/Protection plans purchased (if possible)
Simple Item Entry
Simple item entries are a lot easier to do than detailed item entries. Any item under $100 should be listed under a simple item entry. Examples of a simple item entry would be jeans, t-shirts, socks, towels, cleaners, etc. If something is really important to you or if you have the purchase information it won’t hurt to add it to your included documents.
What to include with a simple item entry
Item number/short description
Quantity
Size (if applicable)
Brand(s)
Price
Step 5: Include Documents
For your detailed items, you will want to include any documents that you have for the item (if you have any documents for your simple items you should add them to the inventory as well).
Examples of documents to add to your inventory:
receipts
appraisals (for jewelry, art, or other collectibles)
extra coverage/protection or insurance you purchased for the item
cleaning/maintenance history (example: jewelry)
any other documents regarding your items
Number your inventory item entries so you can keep your inventory organized and easy to read. If you have a document or documents for your inventory item, staple a sticky note with the inventory entry it belongs to (or write it on somewhere easily seen on the doc)
Step 5: Take Pictures
While listing each item take a picture of the item. A picture can prove the condition of the item, if possible take a picture of the serial/ID/product/SKU. If you have multiple items of the same products you should also try to get a picture of all of them in one photo.
Example of a detailed item
Item # 4: HP Laptop
Item: HP Envy Laptop
Description: HP – ENVY 17.3″ Full HD Touch-Screen Laptop – Intel Core i7 – 16GB Memory – 1TB SSD – Natural Silver
Model: 17-cw0023dx
Sku: 6535750
Price Paid: $1,349.99
Store: Best Buy
Date Purchased: 02/12/2023
Receipt: Attached
Value Today: $1,049.99
Protection Purchased: 1 year accidental Geek Squad protection ($199) & 1 year Norton 360 Deluxe with life lock identity advisor ($30)
Example of Simple Item
Item # 19: North Face T-Shirt
Item: North Face T-Shirt
Description: The North Face Women’s Short Sleeve Half Dome Tr-Blend Tee (Pink)
Quantity: 3
Size (if applicable): Medium
Brand: The North Face
Store item was purchased from: The Nordstrom Rack
Date of purchase (or best guess): February 2022
Price: $25
Keeping Your Inventory Up-To-Date
Keeping your home inventory current is very important. If you go to use your home inventory and it is not current it will not be very useful.
When you purchase a new item make sure to add it to your list using the same template you did before. When you no longer own an item (by selling, returning, donating, or giving away) make sure to remove it from your inventory (especially if it is a detailed/expensive item).
Set aside some time once or twice a year to go through your home inventory and make sure that everything is current. Make sure that you no longer own have been removed and add things that you might have forgotten to add after purchase.
For your expensive items: while reviewing your home inventory, make sure everything is correct. Take a new picture and add it to the item entry (keep the old one as well). If you had an item reappraised or if you had any maintenance done add any paperwork they gave you to the documents section for the item entry.
Keeping your Home Inventory Safe
Your home inventory will only be useful to you if you have it – don’t let your inventory be part of your property loss. You will want to keep a copy of your home inventory somewhere you can easily access but safe and only accessible by people you want to have access to.
Storing your home inventory
Make sure you keep it in a safe, well-hidden place where unwanted eyes won’t be able to see it. Don’t let your home inventory be a treasure map to a burglar.
Important things to remember is using an app to store your home inventory
If you decide to use an app to create your home inventory make sure you know how to properly use the app. It would be incredibly frustrating if you wasted a bunch of time entering each item entry and couldn’t access it when you needed it.
Remember:
Keep the app updated
Know your log-in and password
Make sure you can send a copy of the home inventory to someone if you need to
Verify that you can get access to the list if you get a new phone or in the event you don’t have access to your phone (my husband lost his phone in a fire and it took almost a week for us to get a replacement phone mailed to the hotel)
Keep a copy of the home inventory just to be safe
Conclusion
The goal of a home inventory is to help you verify that you have the correct amount of coverage on your homeowner/renters policy or help you purchase the right amount of coverage. Its second goal is to help you file a claim if you ever experience a loss. For your home inventory to accurately help you, it needs to include the necessary information and be up to date.
If you don’t have a home inventory, I strongly recommend you create one. Remember to take your time when inventorying your items, and to include documents and pictures of your items. Make sure that you keep your home inventory up to date and somewhere safe that you can easily access it. Keep a hard copy and a backup of your complete home inventory on the cloud or USB drive.
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The information contained in this blog post is provided for general informational purposes only. The information is produced from my own personal experiences and personal research. While my main goal is to keep the information up to date and correct, I make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability concerning this blog post or the information, products, services or related graphics if any contained in this blog post for any purpose. The information is not meant as professional or expert advice, and any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
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