“I like taking the photos first so I can refer to them as I add the data,” he says. He uploaded the photos, and then added information such as description, purchase date and serial numbers for each item. Merrell started by photographing all the artwork and furniture in his living room. “It was incredibly easy,” says Edgar, who has so far inventoried her furniture, quilts, sewing room supplies and office equipment. Edgar was one of the first to try the Insurance Information Institute’s Web-based Know Your Stuff program, launched in March. “If there was fire, we’d pack up the animals and be out of here,” she says.
The real advantage: You can print a report anytime and from anywhere and turn it over to your insurance company with a total sum of your assets.Ĭarol Edgar, 63, of Bigfork, Mont., lives adjacent to a wilderness area where wildfires occur every summer.
Sure, you can get the job done with a notebook and disposable camera, but why not let computers do the heavy lifting? A number of new home inventory software programs let you list items room by room and attach photos and receipts, all the while storing everything securely in cyberspace. “It’s one of the most important documents a consumer can put together,” says Jeanne Salvatore, spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, which has provided free downloadable software to consumers for years.įor those who find the prospect of cataloging everything they own daunting, there is some good news. In the event of a claim, insurers require you to substantiate your loss in as much detail as possible. That’s why you need to take stock of what you have. Most of us can’t remember what we had for lunch much less what’s stashed in the hall closet. Now that the hurricane season is gearing up, home inventories are essential.
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