WOULD YOU BE PREPARED IF FIRE,

THEFT OR DISASTER DAMAGED YOUR POSSESSIONS?

What would you do if your home was ransacked and vandalized? What if it burned to the ground, was destroyed by a hurricane, or suffered irreparable damage due to some other catastrophe?

Most of us have homeowner’s insurance; perhaps you even have some additional coverage pertinent to the area you live in (ex: flood or hurricane insurance). You pay your premiums, so you probably think you are covered in the event of a catastrophe, right? But that may not be the case.

Insurance companies are very particular today. Just paying premiums isn’t enough. You must also provide proof of ownership and value of lost assets.

Consider the following example:

Home Owner: “I’m calling to make a claim against my homeowner’s insurance policy #0101010 with XYZ Company. My home was just destroyed due to fire."

Insurance Agent: “I am so sorry, but I’ll be happy to assist you. If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll pull your policy information up on my screen and we’ll see what actions need to be taken."

Home Owner: "Of course. We are so thankful, no one was injured, but we lost most of our belongings in the incident."

Insurance Agent: "That's where we come in. We’ll help you get back on your feet just as quickly as possible. First, however, I’ll need to know everything that was destroyed or damaged. You’ll need to provide all relevant information, including make, model and serial number of each item. You’ll also need purchase receipts or proof of ownership for each item. How quickly can you get these items together, complete your claim forms and submit them to me?"

Home Owner:<...home owner pauses, and slowly begins to panic as he realizes he does not have this information. Everything he had was in the house and was destroyed along with all his belongings. What will he do...>

Now, however, there is no need to panic due to a new method of assistance available to home owners. It’s called home inventory calculation and is offered by many different companies. There are a variety of “do-it-yourself” home inventory programs available commercially, as well.

It’s very easy to find these companies. Just go online to your favorite search engine and put in a web search for “personal home inventory.”

To help you get started, here are a few websites you can search for home inventory information and examples:

www.KCHomeInventory.com

 www.homeview2007.com

www.thehomejournal.com/FeatureInv.htm

www.ksinsurance.org/consumers/docs/HomeInventory.pdf

-Brandon M. Harrison
Journalist, Gunghocity.com

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