 TITLE: How to Make a Home Inventory List for Your Insurance CONTENT: Anything in your house that's not \"permanently installed\" is considered personal property. For example, wall-mounted light fixtures are not personal property, but table lamps are. If your homeowners insurance covers belongings in a storage facility or in a garage, shed or other outbuilding on your property, inventory those too.\nTo make the home inventory process more manageable, break it into smaller steps by starting with your most expensive property, such as furniture and electronics, or going room by room. Walking through each room and taking video or photos of its contents is a convenient method that lets you zoom in on model or serial numbers. While recording, describe each item in detail, including manufacturer, model, when you bought it and the price you paid for it. Be sure you're providing the correct information—exaggerating or lying about an item's value is considered insurance fraud.\nGather receipts, contracts or other purchase records that document the value of your belongings. Claims adjusters won't expect receipts for everything you own, but having them always helps. In lieu of a receipt for a recent purchase, the listing for the item online may suffice, or you can provide bank or credit card statements that include the purchase. For things you didn't pay for, such as gifts or items inherited from a relative, do your own research to estimate the replacement cost.\nA standard home insurance policy may not cover the full value of certain items, such as electronics, jewelry, furs or collectibles; you'll need to buy additional coverage to ensure these items are protected.\nWhat about when you have dozens of similar items, like clothing, dishware or books? Thankfully, you don't need to catalog every pair of socks. Instead, you should count the number of items in each general category, calling out any that are especially valuable (for example: 35 hardcover books and one first edition of Dickens' \"Dombey and Son\").\nYour insurance company may have apps, checklists or worksheets you can use to conduct your home inventory. If not, an online search will uncover several tools to choose from, such as Nest Egg for iOS or HouseBook for Android. It's generally simpler to create a digital home inventory than a written one. A digital inventory is easier to store, update, keep safe and send to your insurance company for a claim. END