Articles

Inventory -

My broker keeps telling me I should do an inventory of the contents of my home. What’s the big deal?

An inventory is critical after a loss. One of the most helpful things to have after a loss is an inventory and description of the items that were in the home prior to the loss. It is a time consuming process to do an inventory, but unless you know the value of your contents, you can not make sure you have enough insurance to take care of replacing everything when it is gone. And you will minimize the chance of settling a claim, then discovering 6 months later that you forgot all your camping equipment because the loss was in the middle of winter and you just didn’t think about it. An inventory is simply a listing of everything you own, usually split up by room, and is based on the REPLACEMENT COST of the items.

If you take a few minutes to do a rough calculation, you may be horrified by how badly underinsured you are. Big ticket items such as TV, stereo and furniture are hard to miss, but it’s the ‘little stuff’ that adds up.

Just a few examples to get you thinking -

30 T-Shirts @$35 =$1,050
100 CD’s and DVD's @$20 = $2,000
books 50 @ $8 = $400
cosmetics and toiletries
spices
craft supplies
pots & pans & dishes

Remember to look at the current replacement cost – after a loss you will not be waiting for sales to replace what you’ve lost! A good place to get ball-park prices is to grab both the fall/winter and spring/summer Sears catalogues. Flipping through will not only give you approximate costs, but will remind you of what you own that is in boxes in the basement you haven’t seen for years. A video tape of the contents of your home will also help to prove quality and details of what has been lost … but a tape alone is not enough. If you don’t do an inventory, establish a value, and increase your coverage, the video will just emphasize how badly underinsured you were!