Why You Should Create a Home Inventory and How to Do It.

Every item in your home was once purchased.  If you added up the cost of everything including all clothing, furniture, kitchenware, appliances, patio furniture, sporting goods, electronics etc., you would amazed at how much money you have spent over the years on these items.

But what if you loose these items all at once?  How could you begin to add up the cost and could you afford to replace everything at the same time?

After an event like your home burning to the ground, your thoughts are ‘where am I going to live’ ‘how am I going to replace my home’ ‘who do I need to call for assistance.’ You’re very emotionally upset and your thoughts are elsewhere trying to deal with your most immediate needs. Imagine an insurance adjuster putting a piece of paper in front of you and asks you to list everything you just lost.

This is why it is very important to create a home inventory, before a loss happens.  With today’s technology its so easy!

Homeowners and Renters Insurance will replace all your personal belongings if damaged by a covered peril, meaning the type of loss that is described in the policy such as fire, smoke, lightening strike, theft or vandalism.  If you loose 1 or 2 of these items at the time, it’s not so much of a problem. But if you lose all your belongings in a major event like a fire, a home inventory will come in very handy to do 2 things:

1. Remember what you had and now have lost
2. Prove to the insurance carrier that you actually owned these items

How to Create a Home Inventory

The quickest and most effective way to do this is with your smart phone. Open up all the cupboards and closets in your home. Using the video feature, slowly pan the camera around to every item in each room. 
If you have expensive and/or unique items you might want to catalog the year purchased, manufacturer, serial number, artist name, name of art piece etc. Keep this list along with any receipts and pictures you have of the items.  Make sure to store this list and home video inventory in ‘the cloud’ , or in a fire proof vault or safe.  It’s also a good idea to send this inventory to your insurance agent who can usually attach the inventory to your insurance policy or record.

At Denver West Insurance Brokers, we provide this type of service to our clients all the time. We are located on the west side of Denver in Golden Colorado and serve the communities of Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster, Littleton, Morrison, Evergreen and the mountain towns of Frisco, Breckenridge, Silverthorne, Dillon and Idaho Springs. Give one of our licensed agents a call today.