How to Create and Keep an Inventory of Your Home Possessions in Case of an Emergency

It's a headache to keep track of your belongings. However, doing so before a tragedy — whether it's an accident, theft, or natural disaster — can make dealing with the aftermath and making an insurance claim much easier.

Your home is engulfed in flames. A thief enters the house. A tornado makes landfall. You must be prepared in the event of a tragedy. It is insufficient to have insurance. You must keep track of everything in your home so that you may have your insurance company replace it if necessary. You'll be able to speed up the claim procedure from your insurance carrier if you already have a home inventory in place when an emergency occurs. As a result, if you follow these steps to create a home inventory, your life will return to normal sooner.

Take pictures

Take photos of your stuff that are clear and comprehensive. Pay extra attention to the big-ticket products. Make sure the images clearly display specifics like the item's condition.

Record on video

Making a video of each room of the house is another approach to classify your possessions. Film inside drawers and closets whenever possible. Along the way, narrate the recording, giving more information on the objects you're shooting.

Make use of a spreadsheet

Keep track of the make, model, and serial number of the item. If possible, add the date and location of purchase, as well as the price, or, if relevant, a link to the product. This can come in handy if something is stolen since the police will be able to monitor your belongings.

Organize receipts from purchases 

Scan your receipts or save them as PDFs in a folder on your computer or on the cloud. Make sure your inventory list is updated whenever you buy something.

As needed, make changes

Update your inventory list as you add to your house and purchase new items. Also, if you've just sold or offloaded something, make any necessary changes to your paperwork.

Keep your inventory in a secure location

Keep a duplicate of your home inventory somewhere other than your house. If a fire breaks out, all of your hard work will be for naught. Either save it online on a cloud service or print a printed copy and store it somewhere else. You may alternatively save it on a flash drive and store it at work or in a safe deposit box.

Using a mobile app to keep an home inventory

Why do everything yourself when you can use an app to guide you through the process? There are a variety of apps available that provide additional protection in the event that you suffer an emergency and your home sustains damage and/or your property is lost or stolen. These apps will aid you in the process of claiming your insurance.

HouseBook: Android / iOS

StuffKeeper: Android / iOS

Magic Home Inventory: Android