How to Make a Home Insurance Inventory and Get the MAX Pay Out

If you suffered some sort of loss to your home and contents, perhaps by a fire or storm, you are probably expecting your insurance company to write you a check so you can rebuild your home and replace your contents. It’s not that easy, unfortunately. In this guide I'll tell you how to make an inventory of your home contents for insurance purposes that will get the MAX pay out.

Regarding your lost contents, your insurance company will want you to make a list to submit and then you get paid after they run it through their algorithm. They will ask for brand and model information, a description, current replacement cost, the age and condition, etc. Some companies even want you to include where the item was originally purchased, whether it was new or not, and more! The insurance company will then apply depreciation and often re-price items. Getting your full contents coverage amount is rarely the outcome.

Sometimes a restoration company, in charge of handling the NON-salvage and salvage items, will make a list for you and turn it in. However, we have found that 100% of the time, that list is not detailed, missing items, and is un-priced or priced very generically.

• If you want to maximize your payout, you will need to be as detailed as possible. Instead of writing TV, for example, you should add details such as Sonia Bravia 43” LED TV. This allows for less “wiggle room” for the insurance company to find significantly lower prices for your items. If an item is no longer available, find an item of like kind a quality. Do NOT guess on prices and ages. Do you best to find accurate prices and spend some time on figuring out how old something was.
• Go room by room. It can be a daunting task to make a contents list, but it is do-able. Be methodical. Go room by room, left to right , including furniture, items inside furniture, and things on the floor and wall.
• Include everything! Many people leave money on the table by only making a list of big ticket items (usually furniture and electronics). But every little thing counts; it all adds up. Include anything that has to be replaced and is considered contents: light bulbs, batteries, surge protectors, tissue paper, etc.
• Be honest! When you submit your list, there will be wording somewhere on their form or website making sure you know that knowingly misrepresenting items on the list is considered FRAUD. So make sure your list is as accurate as possible.
• Go OVER your coverage amount, if possible. This is to account for depreciation. Most people stop working on their list when they see that they have reached their contents limit. However, they have not taken into consideration that the insurance company is going to re-price their items and then apply depreciation (sometimes they depreciate 85% on certain items!!) If you reach your contents coverage limit, but still had other items in your home that were covered, then keep on going, either until you are done or until you are at double the limit.

By following these guidelines, you will maximize your payout for your contents coverage.