![]() The most commonly underestimated area is the wardrobe, Spencer said. It might be as simple as detailing and photographing gardening and sporting equipment,” said Salvatore. “Take a look at your garage and ask yourself what you’d want to claim if it went up in smoke. The most challenging areas are usually attics, basements, closets and other storage areas where things are stashed in boxes. I usually update mine around my birthday.” ![]() Update your home inventory annually, he said: “If you do it at the same time every year it’s easy to remember. “Most insurance companies don’t require receipts so much as just knowing you had a leather couch, what kind it was and what sort of condition it was in,” said Scott Spencer, worldwide appraisal manager for the Warren, New Jersey-based Chubb Personal Insurance company. ![]() Kids can do their own rooms, for example, photographing their computers, electronic devices, sporting goods and other belongings, Salvatore said. Inventories do take time to put together, but the whole family can get involved. While it’s helpful to include your insurance policy number and insurance agent’s phone number on the list, it isn’t necessary to send the list to your insurance company unless you want to be sure you have adequate coverage. Know Your Stuff is a free phone application put out by the Insurance Information Institute, and a wide range of software and services is also available from insurance companies and independent home inventory companies. She started her company after volunteering to help fire victims in Colorado Springs. There’s so much fraud out there, and having a third party eliminates that burden of proof that it’s not fraud,” said Carrie Mitchell, founder of the Colorado-based TWS Home Inventory, with offices in New York and Florida. “The benefit of a having an experienced third party do the inventory is there’s no dispute of claim. While software programs are plentiful and free or inexpensive, there are advantages to hiring a home inventory company to get the job done – and the cost (generally between $500 and $800) can save thousands of dollars in potential losses. Once you have a list, make two copies: Put one in a safety deposit box or other secure, off-site place, and send the other to a trusted friend in another part of the country. If you don’t have a receipt, a copy of a credit card bill is helpful, as are serial numbers and photos, or even notes about where an item was purchased. Get in the habit of taking photos and saving receipts when buying valuable items. To put together a basic home inventory, just make a list of your belongings and their estimated value and store it in a safe place. And you’re going to really depend on that money to get up and running again after a disaster.” But if you add up the cost of your bed, with your mattress, mattress cover, bed frame and maybe a few suits hanging in your closet, some high-tech items or small appliances, and your bike or golf clubs, it easily adds up to thousands of dollars. “People always say they don’t have a lot of stuff. “Regular people, whether they’re homeowners or renters, need home inventories way more than the wealthy, because they need the money more,” Salvatore said. “Just going around your home with a pen and paper taking notes, or making a video with your smartphone of yourself walking around your home and describing the things around you can make a world of difference when you need to make a claim.”Īnd home inventories aren’t just for the rich. “The format is not nearly as important as just having some kind of list,” said Jeanne Salvatore of the New York-based Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit that helps educate the public about insurance. Making a home inventory can be easy there are inexpensive or free services, apps and software. Homeowners can prepare for natural disasters by making home inventories – detailed lists of household belongings and their approximate value.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |