Have you ever had to make a claim on your homeowners insurance?

If so, you have my apologies. If not, there’s something I want to share with you, so you don’t have to learn the hard way.

When you file a claim on your homeowners insurance, almost all companies are going to require you to complete a list of what was destroyed or stolen. You only get reimbursed for the items you can remember. And to make matters worse, some insurance companies want receipts or other proof of what your possessions were worth.

If you’re thinking “no big deal,” try this little test:

Step 1: Take out a piece of paper;

Step 2: Make a list of your possessions;

No fair looking around. If there’s a fire or burglary, all your stuff is going to be GONE. And you’ll have to do this from memory.

Step 3: When you’ve had enough, take a quick walk around the house. How’d you do?

Unless you’ve got a photographic memory, you probably missed alot of your stuff - probably some important stuff. Most people give up well before they reach Step 3 because, let’s face it, making an inventory of your house or apartment is BORING!

If you haven’t gotten the point by now, let me make this as simple as possible: if you have a fire or other disaster, you’re going to have a hard enough time figuring out how to put you’re life back together. You’re going to have almost no chance of remembering all the stuff that was destroyed.

Some people will tell you that the solution is to keep a written inventory of your house or apartment. Yeah right . . . who has the time or the patience to write down all the stuff you own? I can think of about a gazillion things I’d rather do.

So here’s a simple solution: the Video Inventory.

Get out your video camera (or borrow one from a friend or neighbor) and make a tape of all your belongings. That’s right, walk around the house, open doors, drawers, and cupboards, and tape your stuff. Then take the tape and put it in a safe place — OUTSIDE of the house (so it doesn’t get burned up or destroyed with the house). Add to the tape whenever you make major purchases. If you ever have to make a claim, just dust off the tape and give it to your claims adjuster. Most won’t ask you for anything else.

I sincerely hope you’ll never have to use this advice. But if you do have to file a claim on your homeowners insurance, you’ll be happy you took a few minutes to make a video inventory.

Good Luck,

Guardian