It may sound silly to take stock of everything you own, but you’ll be glad you did it in the event of a fire, robbery or any other covered incident. The best way to get the correct amount of money to cover such damages from your insurer is to have indisputable proof of what was lost or destroyed. How do you get this proof? You create a home inventory and file it with your insurer. 
A home inventory is essentially a big list of every possession you value (it doesn’t need to include items you don’t care about, like those old flip flops or a microwave that’s been on the fritz). Grab a notepad or laptop and walk room to room, making note of every item you would want replaced if something happened. Write or type a short description of the item, its estimated value, brand or manufacturer information, serial number (if included) and snap a picture. Since this may take some time, many people prefer to tackle one room per day, or even per week.
Once your list is complete, gather up any receipts for high-dollar items such as fine artwork or furniture. You may find it helpful to scan the receipts so you can store them digitally with your list and photos. Put all of this information together into a folder on your computer for safe keeping.
There’s always a risk that something could happen to your home, in which your computer may be destroyed. To protect your list, and therefore all of your possessions, back up the files to a cloud drive, a flash drive that’s stored elsewhere (such as a safety deposit box) and/or email it to yourself so you can access the information from any computer. It’s also recommended that you give a copy to your insurer for safe keeping, which also doubles as a great way to double check that you have enough contents insurance and make any necessary adjustments.
We’ll help you find a great deal on the best coverage. Call Nor Cal Pacific at 530-221-2300 for more information on home insurance.