The Importance of a Home Inventory

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

13 Mar 2009 11:20 AM

If you don't yet have a home inventory, you should consider putting one together as soon as possible. There are many risks to your home possessions, including robbery, fire and floods. You could lose everything suddenly. Once that happens, you want to have the process of replacing it as easy as possible.

A home inventory can serve two main purposes. The first is to help you realize what you own and what it is all worth. Once you have your home inventory, you will be able to determine if you have enough insurance to cover your losses. Many people underestimate the value of their possession.

With a home inventory, you will also be able to process any insurance claims quickly and accurately. With extensive proof that you actually owned the things you claim, there will be very little debate and challenge. Your claim will go through faster. Also, the entire process will be made faster as well, since you won't have to take the time to figure out what you had and how much it was all worth.

Once you have your home inventory, make sure to keep it in a very safe place. You might decide to keep it in a fireproof safe in your home or in a safe deposit box outside of your home. It is also a good idea to make a copy of your home inventory and store that extra copy somewhere else, such as in the home of a trusted relative or in a locked cabinet in storage. This way if you can't get to the first location for some reason, you can opt to retrieve the copy of your inventory. There are also services that will allow you to store your inventory securely online and retrieve the information from any computer that is connected to the Intranet.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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