{"id":1141,"date":"2015-06-24T18:47:06","date_gmt":"2015-06-24T18:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/?p=1141"},"modified":"2025-01-20T15:17:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T15:17:00","slug":"creating-home-inventory-for-insurance-purposes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/homeowners-insurance\/understanding-homeowners-insurance\/creating-home-inventory-for-insurance-purposes\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a Home Inventory for Insurance Purposes"},"content":{"rendered":"

It seems simple enough \u2013 when you own or rent your residence \u2013 the best way to protect all your valuable stuff is by taking inventory. But, you\u2019d be surprised how many people who have homeowners insurance<\/a> or renters insurance<\/a> don\u2019t take a full inventory of what they own. They just consider the big stuff and guess at the rest. And, that could cost them dearly if they need to make a claim.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, no one wants to think that their home will be burglarized, damaged or destroyed. But, each year, according to the Insurance Information Institute, 7 percent of insured homes have some type of incident that results in a homeowners or renters insurance claim.<\/p>\n

Should you ever need to file an insurance claim, you’ll have to submit a list of items that have been lost, stolen, or damaged, if you expect to be reimbursed. Keeping a current list of all your possessions at your fingertips will aide in making an already difficult process move a lot smoother and get your insurance claim settled faster.<\/p>\n

Below are some guidelines you may want to follow when compiling your home inventory.<\/p>\n

Keep the game plan simple<\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t attack the whole place at once. Deal with one room at a time, or inventory your goods by category, age, or price. The process can be consuming and tiring, so set a pace that works for you and isn\u2019t overwhelming. Take the inventory seriously and make it as complete as possible.<\/p>\n

Photograph or video<\/h2>\n

By keeping a visual record of your items with photos or video is an excellent way to create a record of your stuff, even more so when it comes to things you\u2019re not sure how to describe, price or replace. Include a description on the back of the photos or a caption on digital shots, and if using video, narrate as you move from item to item. Get various angles of more intricate possessions.<\/p>\n

What should you record<\/h2>\n

As you compile your list, describe the item, including brand\/model, date and location of purchase, purchase price, current value and replacement cost. Use home inventory software available online to simplify the process.<\/p>\n

Pay close attention to your big-ticket items<\/h2>\n

Once a visual record has been made of your high-end items, jot down the serial numbers and how much you paid. Next, you\u2019ll want to check to see if those items are adequately covered under your policy. If necessary, you may need to add a rider to cover items like paintings, antiques and jewelry, separately.<\/p>\n

Be aware that prices fluctuate<\/h2>\n

While it\u2019s impossible to know the exact price of all your belongings because of depreciation, their value could drop. If you file a homeowners or renters insurance claim, you\u2019ll be expected to estimate the cost to replace your lost, stolen, or damaged items. Or, you could be at the mercy of your insurance company to come up with a price that is often a low-ball estimate.<\/p>\n

Store inventory list in a safe place \u2013 outside your home<\/h2>\n

You may want to keep your inventory list in a safe place. Ideally, you want to have several copies that you can store outside the home, such as at work, at a friend\u2019s or family member\u2019s home, or in your email.<\/p>\n

Hold onto your receipts<\/h2>\n

This can\u2019t be stressed enough \u2013 but hold onto your receipts, most of all for big ticket items. File the original or a copy outside your home for safe keeping with your home inventory list.<\/p>\n

Check everywhere<\/h2>\n

Remember to check beyond the obvious. Look inside closets, the garage, attic, anywhere you may have items of value such as tools, clothes, and other things you might need to replace.<\/p>\n

Whether you own or rent your home, what you have in it deserves attention. Don\u2019t rely on your memory or it could cost you. The same can be said if you don\u2019t have renters insurance or homeowners insurance that doesn\u2019t cover everything you own. Make sure you\u2019re getting the best rates. Call Freeway Insurance today at (800) 777-5620<\/strong> to get a free renters insurance quote or a free homeowners insurance<\/a> quote.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems simple enough \u2013 when you own or rent your residence \u2013 the best way to protect all your valuable stuff is by taking inventory. But, you\u2019d be surprised how many people who have homeowners insurance or renters insurance don\u2019t take a full inventory of what they own. They just consider the big stuff […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1002628,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[104],"importance":[],"type-content":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1002628"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1141"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6958,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141\/revisions\/6958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1141"},{"taxonomy":"importance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/importance?post=1141"},{"taxonomy":"type-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-content?post=1141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}