A current inventory of all the personal items in your home is important and even necessary, if you are faced with filing a police report or insurance claim. The homeowner is usually asked if they have a home inventory. If not, the homeowner can reconstruct one to estimate the loss.

Imagine you are in this position; would you be able to make an accurate list of your belongings and their value? As an exercise, pick a room of your home, and, while being in another room, list all the belongings and their value. When you’re finished with the list, go into the room, and check to see how you did.

This little project should demonstrate the difficulty of reconstructing a list and depending on whether you missed a lot of items and the importance of having an up-to-date home inventory. Not only will this help you purchase the right amount and type of insurance, having an accurate inventory will make filing a claim easier.

An accurate accounting of your belongings can also help you and your insurance agent to see that your belongings are properly insured. Other reasons for a home inventory include creating a maintenance calendar and helping you declutter by getting rid of items no longer needed. Over half of households do not have a home inventory and the majority of those who do have them, haven’t updated them with new possessions purchased since it was done.

The peace of mind having one can be a strong reason for having a home inventory. It provides confidence that this area is financially organized and prepared should you have need of proving losses. It will help you and your family return to your normal life after an unsettling event.

Download our Home Inventory for more tips on creating one along with alternatives for documenting your belongings. If you don’t have another media, this will allow you to take pictures and list individual items along with values in a fillable PDF that can be stored safely in your online cloud.