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What is a home inventory?
A personal home inventory is a record of every item in your house that you would expect to be covered by your Texas home insurance company. This list should include your computers, TVs, jewelry, antiques, dishes, clothing, art, furniture, gardening equipment, tools, and so forth.
How to do a home inventory for insurance purposes? The cooler evenings might just be the perfect time to take stock of your home’s possessions. Did you get a fancy gift for the holidays? Maybe a diamond ring, a new musical instrument or a piece of artwork? All these items should be insured properly, and, as importantly, added to your home inventory or schedule on a personal articles floater.
What should be included in a home inventory list?
- Item name and description
- Purchase price and date
- Manufacturer, make and model
- Serial number
- Estimated current value to replace
Walk through your home and take photos or videos of your property, open each drawer, cupboards, closets and mark down the item’s condition, and how much you paid for it when it was purchased and description. Once created, it will be the most valuable item in your house.
Homeowners cannot prevent a disaster, however, there are a few simple steps that can make recovery faster and less stressful. One of the quickest and most effective tips is saving receipts for insurance claims. This small habit helps you replace what you lost when it is time to file a claim. You can still be reimbursed without receipts in some situations, however, having them ready often makes the process smoother and much faster with less hassle.
To keep it simple, start with big ticket items. Do you have receipts for these six categories?
- Valuable electronics: Computers, televisions, gaming systems, and other electronics add up quickly. Receipts help confirm what you owned and what it cost.
- Appliances: Think of refrigerator, range or cooktop, dishwasher, washer, and dryer. If you upgraded after moving in, your receipt may be the best proof that your appliance is a higher end model.
- Jewelry: The sentimental value is priceless, but receipts and documentation can support the insured value and help you recover the monetary value.
- Furniture: If you ever need to refurnish after a loss, receipts can speed up your claim and help you replace items with comparable quality and value.
- Sports and hobby equipment: Bikes, skis, power tools, and collections can be more valuable than most people realize, especially when you add it all together.
- Significant home improvements: Major upgrades like a remodeled bathroom, new flooring, or higher end fixtures can increase the value of your home. Receipts help prove what was done and what it cost.
A helpful rule of thumb: if an item costs more than you can comfortably lose or replace, keep the receipt. Keep your receipts and inventory in a secure place, such as a waterproof and fireproof safe, a safe deposit box, or stored electronically with scanned copies in a secure cloud.
If you cannot locate a receipt, descriptions, photos and videos of the home and belongings clearly located in your home, can be strong substitutes. Appliance manuals and warranties also help because they often include the model and serial number. In addition, there are several software programs and apps available to help you create a home inventory. It is important to back up this information, store a copy outside your home in secure location, or in the cloud.
Once your personal inventory is completed, your local independent agent at Britton and Britton Insurance Services can help you confirm that your coverage matches the value you have built into your home insurance policy.
Are you buying a new home in Central Texas or moving to Austin? Are you curious about home insurance savings? We help you choose a good blend of coverage, insurance discounts and benefits, while bundle your boat home, auto, umbrella, landlord policies
Note: Descriptions of insurance discounts, products and packages are meant to offer general ideas only, are necessarily brief, and are subject to policy provisions, limits, deductibles, exclusions, and conditions that can only be expressed in the policy itself. In the event of a conflict, the terms and conditions of your policy prevail. This information is provided solely as an insurance risk management tool. It is provided with the understanding that we are not providing advice or any other professional services. We shall have no liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the use of this information.
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