By Ronald R. Reitz, CPPA  www.qualityclaims.com

Your new possessions, gifts and acquisitions need to be protected. Here are seven great tips to help protect all the new stuff you got this holiday season.

1)            Prepare a home inventory list now – before you have any loss. Include a description of the item, its age, replacement cost, where purchased, and if the item was a gift, indicate when you obtained it.  Do they best you can. You will find that on the first go through you won’t remember a lot but as you revisit it, details should start to pop back into your memory. Don’t forget to include items in the garage, attic or backyard.

2)   Be sure your homeowner’s insurance policy contains a Replacement Cost Endorsement for your contents.  It only costs a few extra dollars per year and is well worth it. If you have any collectables, expensive jewelry, silver, etc., be sure to let your agent know this. It may be necessary to “schedule” some of the items so there is sufficient coverage. Your policy will most likely limit the amount for various items, so be sure to ask your agent to explain other coverages or options if you want to insure those valuables.

3)   You can use seasonal catalogs to help remember various holiday items that you had stored away and not recently used.  This can include Halloween, Easter, anniversary and other unique decorations that you only pull out once or twice a year.

4)   Use your camcorder or digital camera to videotape your house or shoot photos to document your items. Go room by room. Be sure to open drawers and look in closets. Store the video or pictures at an offsite location like your office or save to an electronic back-up system.  You can use your written home inventory list as a script as you go through the house.  If you know how, put your photos and video on a USB drive, DVD/CD disk or removable hard drive and then store them away somewhere safe – not in your house. Make copies and store them in a safe deposit box or a with a member of your family.

5)   Enlist the aid of your grandchildren, family, or friends and have each of them perform an inventory of the items in the home. Maybe assign each a room. Have them use their written list as a script so that they don’t get too far off topic. Make it fun and take your time. Having your grandkids do it may serve as a fond souvenir of them as little kids.

6)   Update your inventory annually. A good time of year to do so is around the beginning of the year, right after the winter holidays, as that is when you have probably added the most to your contents.

7)   If you received a real estate appraisal when you bought your home, make a copy and keep it with your contents inventory information.  An appraisal should contain a floorplan as well as descriptions of flooring, roofing, walls, countertops and other items attached to your home.  This is critical information the adjuster will need.

If you do have a loss, keep in mind that the insurance company will apply depreciation to each item based upon the age of the item. The depreciation will reduce the amount of money they will pay you until those items are actually replaced. Once replaced, you will need to provide receipts proving you spent the replacement cost amount for the items.

If you do suffer a loss of contents, start making a list of damaged items as soon as possible.  You can go back later to search for prices and add descriptions and ages.  It is easy to forget as time goes by.  Don’t submit your list until you feel it is complete. Don’t let your insurance company rush you.  They will want to have you sign off on the list before you are ready. Expect that and be ready.

Make sure your holidays stay happy.

Get a free Home Inventory kit and Guide at the Quality Claims Management web site.