How to make a home inventory for an insurance claim

Why it matters

A contents claim is paid on what you can show you owned. After a fire or a burglary your insurer will ask for a list of everything lost or damaged, item by item, with what it was and what it was worth. People doing that from memory forget things — whole drawers, the garage, the closet in the spare room — and whatever is missing from the list is missing from the claim.

With an inventory made in advance, you print that list instead of rebuilding it from memory.

What to record for each item

• What it is. A plain name, plus the make and model. "TV" is hard to value; "Samsung QN65Q80C" is not.
• The serial number, for electronics, appliances, tools, bikes and anything else that carries one. Police ask for it in a theft report, and it identifies this particular item, rather than one like it, if it turns up.
• Where it is. The room, and the closet or shelf if it matters. Claim forms are often organized room by room.
• When you bought it and what you paid. Approximate is far better than blank.
• What it would cost to replace today. Often more than you paid, and the figure a replacement-cost policy is built around.
• Photos of the item, of the label with the serial number, and of the receipt if you still have it.
• Receipts, manuals and warranties, or photos of them. Paper tends to be in the same house as the loss.

Where to start

Start where the value is, so that even a half-finished inventory covers most of what you would claim:

• Electronics — TVs, computers, phones, tablets, cameras, game consoles, speakers
• Jewelry and watches
• Tools and equipment in the garage or workshop
• Major appliances
• Furniture, rugs and art
• Bikes, sports and outdoor gear

Then work room by room. The room-by-room checklist lists what people most often leave out.

Photos and video help, but they are not an inventory

A walk-through video of every room, with drawers and closets opened, is a good fallback and far better than nothing. But a video does not record serial numbers or prices, and nobody can total it. Use one with a list.

Keep it where the loss cannot reach it

An inventory kept only on a laptop in the house burns with the house. Keep a copy somewhere else — cloud storage you control, an email to yourself, or a printed copy with a relative — and make sure you could get to it from a borrowed phone.

Keep it current

Add big purchases when you make them, and look over the whole list once a year; your policy renewal is a natural reminder. When you do, compare the total with the personal property limit on your policy. That comparison is how many people discover they are underinsured, while there is still time to change it.

Check the special limits

Many homeowners and renters policies set a low cap on certain property: cash and coins, stamps, and theft of jewelry, watches, furs, firearms and silverware. You can usually raise the cap on valuables by listing them individually on the policy — called scheduling, and sometimes sold as a rider or floater. Cash cannot be scheduled. Ask your agent about art and collectibles too, since breakage may not be covered at all.

Renting? You need one too

A landlord's policy covers the building and the landlord's own property, not your belongings. Renters insurance covers your belongings, and the claim works the same way: you list what you lost and show that you owned it.

Moving?

An inventory with photos taken before the move records what you owned and the condition it was in, which you will need for a claim against a mover. What the mover pays also depends on the valuation coverage you chose when you booked. A move is also the easiest time to build one, since everything passes through your hands anyway.

When you do need to claim, here is what an adjuster will ask for.

Last reviewed September 2026. General information, not insurance or legal advice — your policy's wording decides what is covered and how it is valued.