Spring Cleaning Is the Time to Update Your Home Inventory

Spring cleaning is the perfect opportunity to update your home inventory before hurricane season arrives, according to the South Carolina Insurance News Service. Free software available through the News Service Web site makes this task easy.

“An up-to-date home inventory is a big time saver and brings peace of mind when you purchase coverage or when settling claims,” says Allison Dean Love, executive director of the South Carolina Insurance News Service. A home inventory is a list of all of your personal possessions and their estimated value.

The South Carolina Insurance News Service advises homeowners to:

• Compile a list of serial numbers, model numbers, purchase prices and dates.
• Keep a file of sales receipts or appraisals (especially important for electronics, jewelry, artwork and other expensive items).
• Update your home inventory regularly, especially after a new purchase and store the inventory somewhere safe.

To encourage homeowners and renters to conduct a home inventory, the South Carolina Insurance News Service offers the “Know Your Stuff – Home Inventory Software,” free of charge through the Insurance Information Institute. Consumers can access the software by visiting www.scinsurance.net.
In addition to the software, lists of possessions typically found in certain rooms are available to help jumpstart the process. Consumers can add to their computerized lists with digital photographs and videotapes.

Homeowners can simply note all of their belongings in a notebook and keep a file of major receipts, but using technology such as the computer and/or digital camera or video recorder simplifies the process. Consumers can take digital photographs and store them with this software. Using a digital video camera can be quite effective, since homeowners can narrate while filming.

When making a record of possessions, it is important to note expensive items such as jewelry, furs and collectibles since they may require additional insurance. But, it is also important to make note of more commonplace items such as toys, CDs, clothing and even towels and linens since the cost of replacing these items can really add up if you suffer a major disaster.

“The project can be fun if your family gets involved. Children can help by opening closets and drawers and listing what they see,” says Ms. Love.

It is easy to update and store an electronic home inventory. It takes nothing more than the click of a mouse to add a new possession. As for storing your electronic home inventory, you can create a disc or print out a room-by-room document to be stored in a safe deposit box or other secure location. The electronic record can also be e-mailed to a friend, family member or to yourself. In the event of a disaster, e-mail can be accessed remotely.

Please note that the South Carolina Insurance News Service and I.I.I. provide this electronic home inventory software for you to install on your computer. Neither organization will have access to your personal home inventory files. It is your responsibility to save your home inventory in a secure location.