Documenting Your Home and its Contents for Insurance Purposes, p.2

On Wednesday, I wrote about the importance of document your home (inside and out) so that you have an inventory for insurance purposes in case of natural disaster or emergency. Here are more tips for documenting you home and its contents:

In addition to big ticket items, you may not even realize the amount of smaller items you have in your home collectively, they are quite valuable.

Here are some tips for photographing items in your home:

-Use the date stamp so you can demonstrate how recently the pictures were taken. You should update your photo inventory every five years.

-Take single pictures of high-priced items. Take close-ups to capture the make and model number of appliances.

-Take panoramic shots of rooms to capture all that they contain.

-Don't forget closets! You want clothes and other items to be taken into consideration when damages are calculated.

-Keep your photo inventory in a fireproof safe-deposit box that is not kept in your home. You can leave it with a relative or friend. Or you can keep it in a safe-deposit box at your bank.