Home Inventory is Vital to Adequate Insurance Protection and Claim Recovery

Tips For Making a Good Home Inventory are below

For the past few weeks we have all seen the damage to many homes and may think we are not in disaster prone areas. Disasters or all types can occur ant any time and teh recent Hurricanes should be a call to action to document all your possessions Without a complete and updated home inventory, the odds are good that you're not carrying the right amount of insurance. If disaster strikes you will probably under report the true losses. Today, a hose on a washing machine that goes bad can cause $50,000 in damage.

A home inventory can be made in several ways, including taking photographs, making itemized lists on paper or computer disks, by videotaping, or even audio tape.

Valuable art, jewelry or other collectiblesor items whose value may be increasing may need to be insured under a separate policy. Discuss it with your agent.

A personal video inventory can provide homeowners with a concrete inventory of all their items. Other benefits include: Having photographic evidence of not just all belongings, but the home itself

• Being able to determine and verify missing items after a theft Recording serial numbers of electronics for warranty purposes
• Helping police and investigators track missing items and locate perpetrators
• Helping contractors and landlords repair structural damage exactly
• Verifying the contents of your home for applicable taxes.

Home Inventories 101:

Start your video by introducing yourself. Give the date, your address, and a brief history of your home including when it was built, when you purchased the property and any renovations or additions.

Shoot video in a standard sequence beginning with the doorway andcontinuing around the room to encompass all of the furniture and decorations on the wall, as well as any molding, paneling or floorcoverings.

Next, do close-ups of individual pieces -- furniture, artwork, china and so on, in appropriate detail. As you do, name the item and describe it briefly. Give valuable pieces a monetary value, ifknown.

Proceed in a logical room-by-room sequence. Stop the camera and reposition items to show makers' names or labels, marks on the bottom, repairs, restorations or blemishes. For sets of china, silver or glassware, arrange a place setting or display showing one of each item. Narrate onto the tape the number of complete sets in a collection.

Open every drawer, cabinet, closet and storage area and photograph their contents. Specifically photograph the serial number of each and every device (computer, TV, VCR, etc.) that has a serial number.

If the number is too small to photograph, write the number down in large letters and then photograph that.

A home inventory is only beneficial if it's accessible. Keep copies of what ever media you use in a friend's home or bank deposit box.