How to Estimate Home Possessions for Insurance
Homeowners insurance protects you from financial catastrophe when something bad happens to your home by paying out a benefit to defray the costs of replacing your home and possessions. Your home's value is usually worked out as you write the policy -- you'll know as you sign approximately how much the policy will pay, or the exact method they'll use to calculate that value. Estimating the value of your personal possessions, however, is often left until you suffer a loss. Some leg work before and after the loss occurs can help make sure you get the maximum amount.
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Things You'll Need
- Digital camera
- Safe deposit box
- Homeowners insurance policy
- Access to photocopying
Instructions
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Determine whether the policy will pay cash value or replacement value for your possessions. In general, cash value is better if most of your valuables will increase in value over the years. Replacement value is usually better if your possessions will depreciate.
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Review your policy to determine which, if any, of your possessions are specifically excluded. Antiques, furs, jewelry and collections are often excluded beyond a low limit. It's a good idea to separately evaluate and insure expensive items excluded by your policy.
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Find out which items you own are covered by a blanket sum under your policy. Many policies will list a specified benefit for miscellaneous items -- for example, $10,000 to replace your clothing rather than asking you to enumerate every pair of skivvies and jeans.
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List item-by-item your expensive possessions that require specific identification under your policy. Take photos of each using a digital camera. If the item has a serial number, take photos of it as well.
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List the value for each item as best you can evaluate it. Use online auctions or hobby-specific auctions to get a ball-park figure. For particularly valuable possessions or collections, it's often worth getting a professional appraisal.
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Submit your value estimates to the insurance company for approval, along with your justification for those estimates. If your insurance company approves the estimates, keep a copy of the approval. If not, your insurance company will provide a counter estimate and instructions for how to appeal.
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Store your photos and value estimates in a safe deposit box, or other secure area outside your home. If you store them inside your home, you run the risk of losing your evidence when or if you should suffer a loss.
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Take photos and keep receipts for any major new purchases. Update the records with your insurance company, and store the papers with your other evaluations.
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References
- Photo Credit Martin Poole/Lifesize/Getty Images
