Why You Need to Document What Your Own
If you want to undertake a seemingly impossible task, consider listing everything you own. Sure, the bigger stuff may be easy. Your car, your house, your wide screen television, for example. But when you start thinking about what’s in your closets, drawers, garage and kitchen, you can quickly realize how massive that task can be. It can be beneficial, however, especially if you are ever faced with a massive claim on your homeowners’ insurance policy.
Imagine a large fire, flood or tornado that destroys most everything you have. Where would you start in listing your losses?
The good news is that when it comes to insurance, documenting doesn’t necessarily mean listing every item you own and having purchase receipts. While that certainly would facilitate the process, a video or still images of your home and belongings can go a long way in accomplishing several important issues. First, it will certainly serve as a reminder of most of the things you own. It will also at least serve as some documentation when filing your claim.
Ideally, it is a good idea to keep an inventory of your larger purchases, when you bought them and what you paid for them. But documenting every small appliance, clothing or knick knack purchase would be an unfair burden. The key is the better your efforts now, the easy an extensive claim process may be in the future.
It is also just as important to make sure your coverage limits are sufficient. If you have a large personal collection of art, jewelry or antiques, you may want to have a discussion with your independent insurance agent to determine if you should acquire additional coverage. It is one of the reasons a home insurance review is so valuable.
Many people have maintained the same homeowners’ insurance policy with the same coverage for years and perhaps even decades. Things change, however, and housing values may rise and fall. You owe it to yourself to keep your policy updated.
We invite you to contact us for a no-obligation homeowners insurance review. If you like, we can get quotes from multiple companies so you can determine the best coverage at a price that works for you. If you want to make sure you are prepared for a large claim, make sure you have at least some inventory basics down pat and your homeowners insurance is sufficient. Contact us for assistance.
