How to Protect Your Home (and Not Break Your Budget) Series

This 4-week series is a must for every homeowner. Once you buy a home, it’s now all your responsibility! But are you truly prepared for the unexpected? This series is a great overview of what you need to know when getting homeowner’s insurance, keeping your home safe and secure, and avoiding costly mistakes when protecting your home.

This week you’ll learn why keeping an itemized list of your home’s contents is a HUGE help when you need to make an insurance claim.

No one wants their home damaged or destroyed by fire or flooding. Or have treasured items stolen from them. It’s devastating to even think about it.

That’s why you – like all homeowners — rely on insurance coverage to help cover the cost to rebuild your home and replace your belongings.  Having insurance gives you some comfort and relief, right?

But even good insurance is only as good as the records YOU keep!

Your insurance company can only be as helpful to you as you are to them.  It’s a simple fact, and that’s why you need to take inventory of your belongings.

Why It Matters

If you take a look around your home, it’s likely filled with many different items, some worth more than others, some more precious to you, and some just part of your day-to-day life.

But if you add them all up, the value of your belongings could be pretty high.  Are you covered for that? What happens when you need to make a claim and prove the value?

Taking inventory of all your belongings can give you a better idea of how much coverage you need and help verify the value of your belongings when you file a claim and help facilitate the process.

A home inventory can help the claims process tremendously because there is no second-guessing since you can provide both visual and documented proof.

Getting It Right and Making It Easy

A home inventory is just as it sounds, putting together a detailed list of items in your home and taking pictures of the items along with a description, serial number, model, purchase date, and estimated value (include any receipts) for each item.  These items can consist of furniture, fixtures, paintings, jewelry, appliances, electronics, etc.

A home inventory may sound difficult and overwhelming; however, it can be pretty simple with one of the many online options out there.

You can download an online software program, either on your own or through your insurance company, that is designed to help you itemize all of your stuff!

These inexpensive online programs can guide you through the process and make taking inventory of your home much easier and more organized.

If this type of software doesn’t work for you, you can always take the time to save your photos and lists on a safe online system like Dropbox or Google Drive, which can be accessed from anywhere. You can also take a video of your home and walk from room to room to document your stuff.

No matter what system you choose, the most important thing is that you’re organized and prepared if something happens to your home.

Keep It Safe

Never store your inventory list at home where it can be damaged.  That’s why online programs are a great way to keep your itemized lists and pictures safe and accessible when there is an emergency. And, if you still need a paper backup, save those documents in a safety deposit box or secured place outside of your home.

Next up in this 4-week series, How to Protect Your Home (And Not Break Your Budget), you’ll find out why you may need flood insurance for your home. You might be surprised by why it’s critical to get this added protection.