We’ll be out of town until Monday but please enjoy the following article on homeowner’s insurance. I can spend days writing about the number of families who have been forced into distress because they never took the time to verify their insurance coverage or inventoried their belongings.
It is wise to do a home inventory as soon as you move in and become settled, as opposed to waiting to do one in a hurry after a fire, natural disaster or burglary has taken place. A home inventory is a list of all of the property you own including a list of the value of the items. The police and the insurance company will need to be given a copy of your home inventory for their purposes.
To begin your inventory for home insurance purposes, first take a walk through your home, going room by room. As you do so make sure you have pen and paper in hand to take notes and film the rooms with a still camera or video camera. Any items that are valued at $50 or more should go on the list and photos should be taken of them. Do not forget any small nook and cranny of your home. Remember the attic, basement and garage.
Items that need to be included on the home inventory include clothing, jewelry, tools, computers, electronic equipment, paintings, CDs, DVDs, any collections you own (such as a stamp collection or coin collection), dishes, antiques and family heirlooms.
Once you have an informal list, you then need to formalize it in the event that it becomes of use. Most insurance companies provide these forms to their clients or you can download free inventory software from the Insurance Information Institute.
Key Information
The more information you have in regards to your personal property the better it is. Record the make, model and serial numbers of items as theses are particularly beneficial in helping the police to locate stolen merchandise. Also make sure you write down which rooms your items are located in.
An estimate of the purchase price, current value and replacement cost of items is beneficial for your home insurance purposes. For items such as antiques or jewelry you may need to have them professionally appraised and these items would need to be listed on the insurance policy in the form of a rider.
Always make sure you know where to find your ownership documents for all of your belongings, as well as the receipts, repair bills and owner’s manuals. Make sure you keep your written and photographic inventories in a safe location, such as the freezer, a safe deposit box or a fire resistant lock box or file cabinet. It is best to have two copies of each. Keep one at the bank or office and the other at home.
Good tips here. Many people think that because they have contents coverage that they will get a cheque for the full amount of coverage if they have a claim. The insurers usually want to verify how much the actual loss was. For this reason a home inventory is a very good idea to have on hand.
Total Logistics Solutions to Hold Conference Call with Home Inventory Specialist Prospects on June 30th
Burbank, June 30, 2008 — Total Logistics Solutions today announced that it will hold a conference call on June 30, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. PST (6:30 pm CST, 7:30 p.m. EST) and repeated at 7:30 p.m. PST (9:30 pm CST, 10:30 p.m. EST) to discuss the launch of its Home Inventory Specialist program.
Total Logistics Solutions recently began selling home inventory software to the public in October, 2007 just prior to the California fires. With the successful launch of the software and the growing demand for its services, Total Logistics Solutions will now begin allowing individuals the opportunity to become Home Inventory Specialist. “Because of the growing demand for our product and services we felt this was the perfect time to allow individuals to get involved.” Said, Tiffany Victor, VP of Consumer Products, “We also know many people are beginning to look for jobs more locally to subsidize the rising cost of gas”.
Home Inventory Specialist will perform inventories for home and business owners in the event of a disaster. Rene’ Jones, the company’s founder and CEO said, “This is not just an opportunity to make money, it is an opportunity to make a difference!”He went on to say, “We have provided a vehicle for individuals to help their families, friends, communities, etc. By offering the company’s inventory know-how to the general public. We have moved our knowledge of inventory from the warehouse to the living room”.
The call will be hosted by Total Logistics Solutions’, VP of Consumer Products Division, Tiffany Victor, who will be joined by the Founder and CEO, Rene’ Jones along with other members of the company’s senior management team. It will last approximately 20 minutes with 5 minutes for Q&A.
To access the call, dial (218) 936-1600 (domestic) at least 5 minutes prior to the scheduled 4:30 p.m. start. The participant access code is 8070958. Replays of the conference call will not be made available to the public. To read more about the conference call visit http://www.itstime2cya.com/HomeInventorySpecialist_ConferenceCall.htm
An archive of the call will be available to employees only.
Individuals interested in learning more about Total Logistics Solutions products and services and visit their website at http://www.itstime2cya.com or http://www.logisticsociety.com.
Total Logistics Solutions, Inc. was named on the “Top 100” supply chain and logistics organizations in 2007 by Supply and Demand Chain Executive magazine. Cover Your Assets is a consumer based product developed and distributed solely by Total Logistics Solutions, Inc. employees and its independent associates. CYA™ is inventory software developed for homeowners for the purposes of maximizing a return on your insurance investment. Total Logistics Solutions, Inc. asset management division uses the same concept for corporations throughout the US and Canada.
Anyone who is having to do a home inventory for insurance purposes needs to contact Caroline Carter and get her “Caroline’s Home Inventory Lists”. It is invaluable for doing an insurance claim. She lists well over 10,000 items of things you may have lost in a disaster. I’ve never seen anything like it. She lists everything from toothpicks to furniture.
I don’t know if she has her website up yet or not, she was working on it earlier, but her number used to be 775-782-0808
I recovered at least $50,000 more than I would have if I hadn’t used her lists.
A Home Inventory is definitely something that needs to be done by everyone. I am familiar with Cover Your Assets, they put on a free disaster preparedness event for my church. Everyone was very excited about the information that was presented and really liked the free information provided.
Their software product CYA has been listed in Money Magazine, The Robb Report and several others. Consumer Reports has also done a special report ont their Home Inventory Specialist program and named them one of the top business opportunties on the market today.
I highly recommend them to anyone looking to inventory their homes contents or business assets.
Their website is http://www.itstime2cya.com and their phone number is (888) 807-0958
A good online home inventory solution is FreeHomeInventory.com. It allows you full control of your data, including export to a spreadsheet, pictures and secure sharing by email. It is and alway will remain free.
Nice article. People really dont realize how much stuff they have or how much it is worth. Even the little things like designer dresses or designer ties and suits. My wife has a purse collection and if you actually added up all those purses it is quite a bit of money.
Asset Inventory Protection
All investment instruments have their unique set of advantages to offer. It is vital for investors to be aware of the nuances in a particular offering and make informed decisions.
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Sarah
Home Insurance