Make your belongings easier to account for.

Start with one room.

Choose a room you can finish in one sitting. Record items, take clear photos, and keep purchase or valuation records when available. Continue through storage areas, the garage, and detached buildings. An inventory documents belongings; it does not itself establish coverage or prove a claim will be paid.

A practical record to keep.

Use a spreadsheet, a document, or a tool you are comfortable maintaining. Keep enough detail to recognize the item later without turning the task into a catalog you never finish.

• Room or storage location and a plain description of the item.
• Brand, model, serial number, and purchase details when available.
• Photos and relevant receipts or appraisals.
• A note for valuable, unusual, borrowed, or business-owned items.

Keep the record separate from the initial quote request.

Save a secure backup somewhere you can access if the home is damaged. Do not attach a detailed inventory or photos of valuables to the public website form. Ask Todd how to provide information if a policy review requires it. Review any special limits on valuable items instead of assuming your inventory increases those limits.

Make updates part of another routine.

Set aside time after a major purchase or household change to add the new items and remove things you no longer own. During a coverage review, ask how personal property is valued and whether the policy’s limits fit what you have recorded. Use the OCI inventory resource below if you want a starting form.