When it comes to apartment insurance, second in importance to your home possessions is a record of your home possessions.
You can do this easily with a home survey. Here’s how:
1. Vision Quest
A comprehensive home inventory should include a spreadsheet, diary, or notebook filled with the item description (make, model, serial number, value and purchase date).
Even more important for showing proof of ownership is having a visual record of your possessions. You can do this through a series of photographs.
Gotham says: A written inventory supplemented by 30 or so digital photos is the best way to maximize the investment you’ve made with apartment insurance. Photos are easy to forward to an adjuster.
2. Room and Hoard
It’s important to thoroughly document your belongings to help the claims process go smoothly. Move from room to room, listing items as you go. Don’t forget to include items in an off-site storage unit.
Gotham says: This documentation includes: receipts, credit card statements, other transaction documents, and appraisals (include the appraiser’s name and address). Once you’ve created your home inventory, make sure to update it as you acquire or get rid of items.
3. Safe Keeping
Use cloud storage, like Google Docs or Dropbox, which can also store images, so you can access your home survey from anywhere, whenever you need it.
Gotham says: Written inventories are useful for reminding you what was in your possession when making a claim in case of fire or theft. It is easy to forget. But they are not accepted as proof of ownership — digital photos and credit card receipts are.