Damaged property inventory guide

What to record for each item

Write one line per item. If you have several of the same thing, record the quantity and the price of one.

• What it is, in plain words (“sectional sofa, gray fabric”)
• Room where it was
• Quantity
• Brand, model and serial number, if you can find them
• When you bought it and what you paid, even roughly
• Condition before the damage
• What a replacement costs today, and where you found that price (a store link or screenshot)
• Photos: the damage, the label, and any “before” photo
• What happened to it: still in the house, thrown out (and when), or kept for the adjuster

What a few lines can look like

The prices are only what the person paid and what they found in a store. They don’t say what an item is worth or what will be paid; your policy and your insurer decide that.

Go room by room

Work through one room at a time so nothing is missed. Open closets, drawers and cabinets; small things add up. Don’t forget the garage, attic, outdoor furniture, tools and anything in storage.

If you can’t finish a room in one go, note where you stopped.

Showing you owned it

Proof of ownership helps the list hold up. Useful records include:

• Photos and videos from before the damage, including the background of family photos
• Receipts, online order history and order emails
• Bank and card statements
• Product manuals, warranty cards and original boxes
• Appraisals for jewelry, art or collectibles

Keeping the list

A spreadsheet with one column for each field above works well, with one row per item and a number for each item. Numbering items (Item 1, Item 2) makes it easy to point to one in a call or letter.

Your insurer may ask you to use its own contents form. If it does, use its form; your list makes filling it in much quicker. How belongings are valued depends on your policy, so the list should simply record the facts.

Costs you pay while the claim is open, such as a hotel or a storage unit, belong on a separate running list. The guide to tracking claim expenses and receipts shows one way to keep it.

Keeping it all in one place

Paper folders, a notebook and your phone’s camera are enough to follow this guide. If you’d rather keep it together on your phone, Claim Binder (now in beta testing on iPhone and iPad) holds your photos, items, receipts, contacts and deadlines in one place on your iPhone or iPad, even without electricity or cell signal.