Why Bother to Take Home Inventory Pictures for Home Insurance? There are several reasons that we should all take the time to snap pictures of our possessions in case we need to make a insurance claim later.
Keep in mind that you purchased the coverage because you wanted to cover your most valuable assets.
This includes your actual home, and it also includes the things you have inside your home.
Do You Really Remember Everything You Own? One of the biggest reasons to take pictures, believe it or not, is just so you can remember what you have.
Right now, you are probably calmly surfing the internet.
If you close your eyes, can you list all of the valuable things in the room you are sitting in? Did you remember the computer you are using right now, your grandfather's clock, and the pair of glasses you set on a shelf? If you cannot remember everything in one room, how will you remember everything you have in your whole house? And if you have just had some disaster which caused damage, you will be even less likely to be in a frame of mind to remember what you had in your home.
So one of the main reasons for taking photos is that it is part of the process of taking a home inventory and recording the things you actually have in your house.
In fact, insurers report that their customers will add possessions to their claims months after they file because they forgot about things in the beginning.
It will be a lot more efficient for you and your insurance company if you have a proper home inventory.
Help To Prove Value Just in case you haven't saved every receipt for every item you purchased, it will help to have a picture to prove the true value.
If your laptop is burned up in a fire, it may be hard to convince your insurer that it was a top model instead of a basic one.
A picture of your extra wide screen or the label may help after the actual PC has been reduced to a pile of melted plastic.
And if you only have some fragments of your grandfather's clock, you need a photo to establish the fact that it is a genuine antique.
Otherwise the claims adjuster may just look at some metal scrap and wood fragments, and he or she would just want to reimburse you for an ordinary clock If you own anything of particular value, like an expensive wedding ring, you will want to photograph it too.
One example where this is particularly useful is if the item is just damaged, but not really ruined.
If the diamond falls out of your wedding band it would be very helpful to be able to show your insurer that the ring used to be intact.
Store Your Home Inventory and Photos In a Safe Place! So even though you may be able to show your claims adjuster some fragments of your damaged items, a picture will help you to establish their quality and type so you can get a fair settlement.
It will also help you take a.
home inventory.
One important thing to think about is where you where you want to store your home inventory and photos.
If you keep it at home, it could get damaged too.
You could put it in a safety deposit box.
There are a number of online home inventory services you could use too.
They accept digital images, scanned receipts, and your comments.
It is really handy to have online access to this important information.