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If your house burned down tonight, could you sit at my desk tomorrow and list everything that
was in it? Nobody can. I have sat across from a good many people on the worst day of their lives,
trying to remember what was in the hall closet, and I can tell you that a list made ahead of time
is worth more than anything I can sell you. It makes the claim faster and fairer, and it saves you
from trying to remember your whole life with the smoke still in your clothes.
It takes one Saturday afternoon. Here's how.
Five Steps
- Walk through the house with a video camera. If you don't own one, borrow one. It
seems like everybody's brother-in-law has one now. Go room by room and talk as you go. Open the
closets, the cupboards and the drawers. Read the brand names and model numbers off the backs of
the television, the VCR and the computer out loud. Say about what you paid and about when. Don't
forget the basement, the attic, the garage and the shed.
- No video camera? Use your regular camera. One roll of film per floor is about right.
Get doubles when you have them developed, and write on the backs of the prints what's in each one.
- Fill in the checklist below. Print this page and take it from room to room with a pen.
You don't need to list every fork. "Silverware, service for twelve, my mother's" will do.
- Get it out of the house. Put the videotape or the pictures, the checklist, the receipts
for anything big, and any appraisals in a safe deposit box at the bank, or with a relative in another
town. An inventory that burns up with the house doesn't help anybody.
- Do it again every year. I tell people to do it the weekend they set the clocks back in
October, the same as changing the batteries in the smoke detectors. This year that's the last weekend
of the month.
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A word about limits. Most homeowners policies put a special limit on certain kinds of
property, especially when it's stolen: jewelry and watches, furs, guns, silverware, cash, and coin
or stamp collections. If you own valuable pieces, they can be listed separately on your policy,
usually with an appraisal or a receipt. Your inventory is a good time to find out what you have.
Bring the list in and we'll go over it.
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The Checklist
Put a check in the box when you've filmed it, photographed it or written it down.
| Living Room and Family Room |
| Television, VCR, cable box, video tapes | |
| Stereo, speakers, records, tapes and compact discs | |
| Sofa, chairs, recliner, tables, lamps | |
| Rugs, curtains and drapes | |
| Pictures, mirrors, clocks | |
| Books | |
| Piano or organ | |
| Kitchen and Dining Room |
| Refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher | |
| Small appliances: mixer, toaster, coffee maker, blender | |
| Dishes, glasses, pots and pans, silverware | |
| Table and chairs, china cabinet and what's in it | |
| Linens and tablecloths | |
| Bedrooms |
| Beds, mattresses, dressers, nightstands | |
| Clothing: count the coats, suits, dresses and shoes | |
| Jewelry and watches (see the word about limits) | |
| Quilts and blankets | |
| Children's toys, games and video game systems | |
| Den or Office |
| Computer, monitor, printer, modem and the software boxes | |
| Typewriter, sewing machine | |
| Desk, file cabinet, bookcases | |
| Cameras, video camera, binoculars | |
| Basement and Laundry |
| Washer and dryer | |
| Chest freezer and what's in it (half a beef and a deer add up) | |
| Water softener, dehumidifier | |
| Canning jars and canned goods | |
| Christmas decorations | |
| Luggage, sporting goods, exercise equipment | |
| Garage, Workshop and Shed |
| Lawn mower, snowblower, garden tractor | |
| Hand tools and power tools | |
| Ladders, wheelbarrow, garden tools | |
| Bicycles, grill, lawn furniture | |
| Fishing gear, ice fishing gear, hunting clothes | |
| Guns, with make, model and serial number (see the word about limits) | |
Things People Forget
- What's in the freezer and the pantry.
- The tools. A man's tools can be worth more than his furniture, and he never thinks to list them.
- Hobby things: the quilting fabric, the model trains, the woodworking machines.
- What's in the attic and under the beds.
- Things you're keeping for someone else.
- The kids' things. Bicycles, skates, the stereo in the teenager's room.
For our farm customers: your farm policy has its own schedule of machinery, livestock
and stored grain, and we go over that list with you at every renewal. This checklist is for the
house.
Questions? Call (555) 555-0147, write to
[email protected], or stop by the office on
Main Street.
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