How You Can Take Home Inventory
In order to get the most out of your home insurance you need to make sure you know what you want to have protected. This protection comes from being able to take a good home inventory. Are you aware of how to make a home inventory that will be easy to follow, yet still keep you in line to get all the money you need back? The following information will help you with that. You can make a home inventory and it will not be very difficult at all. You have a lot of possessions that you will want to protect in case of an emergency. A home insurance company will require you to have some sort of inventory to go over.
What is a Complete Inventory?
Most people want to create an inventory that they really can use. They feel much more comfortable with a complete inventory then anything else. Well, for some people the idea of such an inventory is daunting and unreachable. Just think of it this way. It is better to have a small inventory then nothing at all. At least with a small inventory you are going to be getting something back. If you do not have any inventory then whatever you lose will be lost for good. Just go room by room and see what is within that room that is important. This is a much better way then trying to sit at your kitchen table and think about it all at once.
High Value Items
Things like artwork, jewelry, etc. can be difficult for an inventory. Many of these pieces can increase in value over time. You need to make sure that you include them on the inventory from the beginning. Just make sure that you check back in and change the insurance amount of them whenever the value rises or lowers. In some cases you might have to forgo putting these items on your inventory and insuring them separately. This is something that you need to discuss with your home insurance agent though because they will lead you down a better path. Nothing is too big to be written down on the initial inventory though. Since you are the homeowner it is up to you to start the inventory.
Recording and Storage
There are a few ways to keep this inventory. You can use a notebook, pen, and a camera. You will write down the items that are on the inventory and then take a picture of it. You can literally walk around your home with a video camera and record the item. You can also use your computer to write all of this down. You can then store it on the hard drive. No matter how you do it you need to make sure you keep track of the information and even store copies of it in a different place just to have as back up. A safety deposit box is a great place for this information. Do not just send your home insurance company the only list.
