Life moves at an incredibly fast pace. Most of us do all that we can to keep up with daily demands. Work, kids, home, bills all take a part of our attention and divide our time into many quadrants that do two things. First, these responsibilities take time out of our day. The more we take on, the less time we have for ourselves. Secondly, they diminish downtime that we need to keep things in order. When this happens we rush through our days with a sometimes haphazard effort in order to “get it all in.” Time is not on our side these days. So what are the consequences? Some things don’t get finished and some very important things never get started. Sometimes these things are superfluous like painting the fence or weeding the garden. Other times these things are much more important to our future happiness such as a Home Inventory.
We don’t typically notice, nor do we always care to make a list of all of our worldly possessions when we don’t have a motivating reason to do this. It is a proven fact that people are motivated by emotions which are triggered by an event. One event does not elicit the same reaction for everyone; however, disasters seem to motivate everyone in the same fashion. Many times people who have been devastated by home fires, auto accidents, natural disasters and other catastrophic life events have been left in a state of ruin and despair fighting to prove they owned what yesterday they took for granted. Fighting for an insurance claim with no receipts, no documentation, no digital proof and not a stitch of evidence that it ever existed can potentially put you on the losing end of an overwhelming battle of wills. Not having planned ahead by taking time to put together a home inventory suddenly becomes one of those things you wish you had taken the time to do.
The claims process does take time. Your agent is one factor in determining how long you may wait for a settlement check. Another factor in how many stitches in time you will have to count before beginning the rebuilding stages is how proactive you were in keeping track of your worldly goods on a regular basis. A home inventory can be a pain to compile but a lifesaver when you may need it most. After a disaster, an inventory can help provide proof of personal property loss negating the number of discussions you may have with your insurance provider trying to prove you owned what you say you lost in the disaster. How do you prove you owned a 70” LCD TV with no TV and no receipt? Do you have the means to live elsewhere while you pay out of pocket to begin renovating or rebuilding your home? Without a home inventory you may need to do this while your claim is being “processed”. Without a home inventory the process could take a long time.
Home inventory can be done in many ways:
• Software is available through many sources which you can obtain to keep a digital list of your worldly goods.
• Videotaped inventory of your home contents can be given to your insurance agent who will keep it on file for you.
• Written list of home contents.
There are apps and worksheets and many resources available to you that make the process a bit less cumbersome. Whatever tool you use is up to you. The important thing to remember is that you should use something and get yourself some peace of mind knowing that you are well prepared for a disaster should it happen. Don’t wait until disaster strikes to take action.
If you have questions about how to start your own home inventory call your Agent or our offices to speak with one of our team members today.
