How to Estimate Contents for Insurance
If your homeowners insurance policy doesn't cover all your possessions, your insurer won't pay enough to replace them. Homeowners insurance typically covers your possessions up to 50 to 70 percent of the value of the policy, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Thus, if your home is insured for $150,000, the contents will automatically be covered for $75,000 to $105,000. If you want to be certain that's enough, go over the contents of your house and estimate the value before you take out the policy.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Go through your house, room by room, and record the contents, recommends comparethemarket.com. This includes furniture, electronics, books, clothes, mirrors, exercise equipment, jewelry, antiques, kitchen appliances and whatever else you may have. In the case of books or clothes, an estimate of the number of shirts or paperbacks will probably suffice, but single out any specific valuable items such as a particular book or expensive designer dress.
-
2
Take a photograph or a video recording of the rooms as you go through them. This will show the insurer you owned the items you claimed to have, Compare the Market states, in case the adjuster asks any questions.
-
-
3
Estimate what it would cost to replace all your possessions, if lost in a fire or mudslide. The estimate should be based on what the equivalent items would cost today, not what you originally paid, according to guardian.co.uk. If you're not sure about prices, a quick walk through a store or two should give you a rough idea.
-
4
Add up the total replacement value of your home's contents. If the sum is more than the policy covers, consider taking out extra coverage, suggests the Insurance Information Institute.
-
5
Update your inventory every year or so. As you buy more things over the years, it is easy to forget that the total replacement cost also increases; if you go five or six years without updating or adjusting your coverage, you may find you have nowhere near the coverage to replace what you own.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you want your insurer to replace your contents, opt for a replacement-value policy instead of a cash-value policy. Cash-value pays the original purchase price, less depreciation for however many years you've owned the item; replacement value covers the cost of buying a new one. Replacement-value policies cost about 10 percent more, states the Insurance Information Institute.
The Insurance Information Institute offers an online software inventory system free. You can use it to record the contents of your house.
Homeowners insurance limits the coverage for such things as art, jewelry, furs, antiques or collectibles. If you want them fully covered, you'll need to take out extra coverage. It may be worthwhile having the items appraised to get the exact value.
