Home Inventory Equals Less Stress

Most people realize that they face the possibility of a fire, tornado, theft or other disaster. Unfortunately few have a thorough inventory of their belongings which results in a lower settlement than they expected.

Financials aside, the emotional stress you would experience is something few people think about until it’s too late. Without looking around, take a moment to list everything in the room. Now try to do that for all of your home’s contents. Impossible! Now think of how difficult it would be if you were not in familiar surroundings and under the stress of just experiencing a disaster.

A theft investigator relayed the story of a man who was burglarized. He was so distraught at the thought of being victimized that he couldn’t even remember the brand of his TVs. A month later, he still had not filled out his police report or insurance claim. He stated that became so overwhelmed with negative emotions when he thought about the burglary that he just couldn’t force himself to fill out the paperwork! Therefore, the police had no information to try to recover his stolen items, and his financial recovery was being delayed. Imagine how much easier this man’s experience would have been if he had an inventory of his belongings.

A fire victim was stressed because she was working with the adjustor instead of spending time with her daughter. When their house was on fire, they jumped from 2nd story windows. Her daughter broke her back, was hospitalized and in a great deal of pain. They had family heirlooms and it was extremely difficult to prove these fire-damaged furnishings were antiques. The time she devoted trying to prove the value of the items and receive an acceptable settlement was enormous. All the while, she was torn between needing to settle the financial issues and desperately wanting to be with her daughter! Imagine, instead, how different those months would have been if she could have show photos and appraisals of these items.

The importance of an inventory of your belongings is evidenced at one of the worst times in one’s life – when you have experienced a disaster. It can take months to list everything you own(ed), and you are in limbo while compiling this information.

Once funds are received, will your claim be sufficient enough to fully recover? Many disaster victims state that they forgot thousands of dollars worth of items. According to the National Insurance Industry, policy holders who have a thorough inventory not only receive faster results when filing a claim, they also receive greater settlements. If you don’t remember what you own, you won’t request replacement; thus, you won’t fully recover. And for high-dollar items, you will most likely be required to show proof of ownership (i.e., big screen TV).

Most people agree it is important, but few have this documentation. Reasons cited for not maintaining a personal property inventory are that are people are too busy, it takes too long, they don’t know how, or realize they will not keep it up to date if they do create one.

If you are in one of these categories, seek the assistance of a professional to provide the service for you. Verify they are bonded and insured. In addition to the inventory service, the provider should also include secure backup of your records and a process in place to update your records annually. Without the updates, the report will be outdated very quickly. The cost of a professionally documented inventory is minor compared to the loss you could encounter!