Why Store Your Home Inventory List in a Safe Deposit Box?

Should you need to file a claim, a home inventory list offers you and your home contents insurer with a complete assessment of the contents of your home, as well as the approximate value of each item.

This list, together with the necessary insurance coverage, is used to protect your financial well-being if your house contents, assets, and other valuables are destroyed, stolen, or lost due to unanticipated situations such as theft or natural catastrophe.

The value of a home inventory, for example, was highlighted during Australia's recent wildfire catastrophe. According to the Australian Broadcasting Assocation, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has released suggestions that you should conduct "a room by room inventory of things well before bushfire season, so you're not trying to remember what belongings you had after a fire if the worst happens."

What is the Purpose of a Home Inventory?

A home inventory list, which is included with your house and contents insurance, isn't just about what nature can take away. According to 7 News, a "Brisbane restaurant was targeted by criminals who took spaghetti and other strange products" after two guys went out of their way to break into the premises using an angle grinder during the current outbreak of fear caused by the Coronavirus or COVID 19.

The foregoing raises the troubling question of what will happen if the country is truly in jeopardy. What happens when the people around you are actually desperate? If the foregoing example is a result of panic, what will happen when the people around you are truly desperate? The obvious answer is that theft, home invasions, and overall crime rates will increase.

Whatever the risks, these uncertainties exist, and keeping a complete list of your home contents can help you remember what assets and goods you have, as well as their related value, so you aren't left guessing until it's too late.

What Should You Put in Your Home Inventory?

Given that generating a home inventory is a step you can do right now to support any future claims you might have, you'll want to make a list of all the valuable goods in your home. You should do a room-by-room inspection of your home, as recommended by the ICA.

While the entire experience may be intimidating, you may make it easier on yourself by starting with newer things and working your way through them in categories. Also, remember to include basic information in a description of each item, attach proof of purchase such as a receipt or appraisal, and where feasible, record the serial number that uniquely identifies each item.

Above all, store your inventory offsite

It's critical to keep the photo or video proof, as well as your home inventory list, out of your residence once you've finished your home inventory. It might be as simple as capturing all of your assets on your phone and then transferring the data to a USB drive. The reason for this is that you don't want to risk misplacing your home inventory list, or having it stolen or damaged along with your belongings due to unanticipated circumstances.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to keep your home goods safe. There are a variety of home inventory software choices available, for example, that allow you to record your home inventory in an app and back up your data from the comfort of your pocket.

Keep your home inventory in a secure location

While the foregoing is worth investigating, the truth remains that data is just as fragile as your personal belongings, as the locations where your data is stored are just as exposed to natural catastrophes, theft, and human error. As a result, you'll need to store a physical copy of your records offshore as well as a digital copy.

Furthermore, you may have valuable objects in your home that require separate protection, increasing the cost of your overall home contents insurance coverage.

The tale of a friend whose home was recently burned down comes to me as an example of the value of this technique. On a Saturday morning, he and his wife went shopping and returned home to discover three fire trucks around the smouldering remnants of their family home. They fought with their insurer for 9 months to get their money. This caused them considerable anxiety and stress. All of their family photographs and asset records were on their home computer, which, along with all of their belongings, was destroyed in the fire.

They bought a camper van to live in while tending to their animals and sorting through the ashes because they had an acres property with animals (horses, goats, and chicks). Their lives had been turned upside down, and the uncertainty about their future lasted for nine months before they were able to strike an agreement. All of this could have been averted if they had a house inventory or video evidence of their possessions, as well as a secure, off-site storage spot for them.

It’s important to store your home inventory list in an offsite location, in safe deposit box that provides maximum security.