Home inventory for insurance: how to list your contents

Why it matters

After a serious fire or flood, your insurer will ask you to list what was damaged or destroyed. Policies call this a proof of loss or a schedule of loss. Most people cannot name everything in their own kitchen from memory, and under stress they forget far more. What is not listed is not paid for.

An inventory also tells you whether your contents limit is high enough. Many people are surprised by the total.

Making one before anything happens

The quick version: video

Walk through your home with your phone recording. This takes under an hour and is far better than nothing.

• Go room by room, slowly
• Open every closet, cupboard and drawer
• Say what things are, and roughly when you bought them
• Zoom in on makes, models and serial numbers of electronics and appliances
• Include the basement, garage, shed, attic and storage locker
• Include what is on the walls and floors

The thorough version: a list

For each significant item, record:

• What it is
• Make, model and serial number
• When and where you bought it
• What you paid, or an estimate
• A photo
• The receipt, if you have it

A spreadsheet works. So do the inventory apps and checklists that many insurers and brokers offer their customers.

You do not need a line for every fork. Group ordinary things: “kitchen utensils, about 60 pieces”, “men’s shirts, 25”. Itemise anything valuable.

Do not forget

• Clothing, shoes and coats. These add up to more than people expect.
• Bedding, towels and linens
• Kitchen small appliances, cookware and dishes
• Tools and garden equipment
• Sports equipment, bicycles and camping gear
• Books, games, toys and musical instruments
• Seasonal decorations
• The contents of the freezer and pantry
• Window coverings and rugs
• Items in storage, or at a student’s residence

Where to keep it

Not only in the house. Store it in a cloud account, email it to yourself, or give a copy to a relative. Update it once a year and after any large purchase.

High-value items and special limits

Home policies usually cap what they pay for certain categories, such as jewellery, watches, furs, cash, collectibles, bicycles, and sometimes art and silverware. The caps can be low. If you own things worth more than the limit, ask your broker about scheduling them individually, which normally needs an appraisal or receipt.

Keep appraisals and receipts for these with your inventory.

Replacement cost and actual cash value

• Replacement cost pays what it costs to buy a new item of similar kind and quality.
• Actual cash value pays that amount less depreciation.

Many policies with replacement cost coverage pay actual cash value first and the balance once you actually replace the item and send in the receipt. Ask your adjuster how your policy works and whether there is a deadline for replacing.

Building a list after a loss with no inventory

It is harder, but it is done all the time.

1. Do not throw damaged items away before they have been listed and photographed, unless they are a health hazard. If something must go, such as spoiled food or sewage-soaked items, photograph it and list it first, and tell your adjuster.
2. Work room by room. Sketch each room and go around it: what was on each wall, in each cupboard, on each shelf.
3. Go through your phone and social media. Photos of birthdays and holidays show the rooms behind the people.
4. Check online order histories and emails for receipts.
5. Go through bank and credit card statements.
6. Ask family and friends for photos taken in your home.
7. Look at retailers’ websites to find current prices for the same or similar items.
8. Keep adding. You will remember things for weeks. Ask the adjuster how to submit additions.

For each item, give a description, its age, and the cost to replace it. Be accurate. Deliberately overstating a claim can void it.

How a restoration contractor helps

In a contents loss, the restoration company sorts belongings into those that can be cleaned and those that cannot. A proper pack-out includes:

• Photographing and listing each item or box, by room
• Recording its condition
• A separate list of non-salvageable items for you and the adjuster to review
• Tracking where everything is stored

Ask for copies of these lists. Check the non-salvageable list before anything is disposed of, and add what is missing.

Living expenses are separate

Keep receipts for hotels, meals, laundry and extra travel in their own folder. They are claimed under additional living expenses, not contents. See additional living expenses explained.

A realistic plan

• Today: a walk-through video, saved to the cloud
• This month: photos of serial numbers and receipts for the expensive items
• This year: a list by room, and a conversation with your broker about your contents limit and special limits

More: contents cleaning and pack-out.