09 Jun Is Your Personal Belongings Inventory Up to Date?

This is a time when natural disasters are on the rise. In addition to disaster preparedness, one thing that gets overlooked is a detailed list of all your belongings. This can be a lifesaver if your home is ever lost to fire, flood, or other disasters.

If you were to lose everything in a disaster, you home insurance may cover everything lost; however, without documenting all your belongings, it may never happen. It is critical if you are filing a claim to have documented back up in the form of a personal belongings inventory.

A basic handwritten list stored in a safe deposit box is perfectly acceptable. However, if a home is destroyed, the pen-and-paper list may be destroyed as well.

Now there are websites available to help homeowners create an inventory record-keeping list that can be stored on remote servers and accessed from anywhere. One site, DocuHome.com, allows homeowners to upload room photos and tag furniture and belongings. Users can then create an inventory spreadsheet from all of the tags and enter values of the items.

Regardless of your inventory method, remember to include everything from bedsheets to jewelry to furniture.  Just like backing up your computer, don’t wait until disaster strikes and it’s too late.