create a home inventory

My husband and I recently switched our home owner’s insurance to go through a special (and less expensive) program offered through his work. As we were meeting with the company and going over our coverage, one of the things they really stressed was preparing for emergency situations such as theft, fire, etc.

They explained how important is to have an accurate inventory of everything in our home to protect us and our valuables. They told us that it could make a huge difference on our insurance claim. They also mentioned that it would be a good idea to document everything in our home in writing, with photos and even by video.

I am a pretty organized person ;) so I thought that I was doing a good job by simply documenting our belonging on paper but I never really thought about the need to take pictures, videos, or do anything more detailed than that.

Well, now I know differently! Here are some of the tips I learned from our new insurance company!

· Conduct a complete home inventory every year or so

· Document everything in categories (clothes, electronics, kitchen, tools, vehicles, etc)

· Include serial numbers and other important phone numbers or certificates of authentication information along with your inventory.

· Take pictures of every closet, kitchen cabinet, and any collections you have

· Pay special attention to antiques, jewelry and other highly valuable items.

· Keep all this information, pictures, etc in a fire-proof box or in a location outside of your home.

· It might also be wise to have a few copies of your information stored in separate locations.

Now that you know how to conduct a home inventory, take some time this week to update yours or create a new one. Hopefully you will never need to use it…but it’s always better to be safe than sorry!