What’s the fastest way to document your home’s contents for insurance?
Written by Andy Kruger
BuildSOS CEO4 min read
The short answer
Walk through your house with your phone and record a video, room by room, narrating what you see. Then build a simple list: item, purchase date, and price, for anything valuable. Store both in your BuildSOS profile or the cloud. It takes about 20 minutes and it’s the difference between an insurer guessing what you owned and you proving it.
Why an asset list matters for a claim
When you file a claim, you’re not just proving your house was damaged. You’re proving what was inside it.
Fewer than half of U.S. households have a home inventory (Insurance Information Institute). Without one, you’re filing from memory, and memory is a poor substitute for a list, especially weeks after a disaster when you’re also dealing with contractors, adjusters, and a dozen other things at once.
An asset list turns “I think we had a decent TV and some furniture” into a specific, dated, provable record. That’s what gets the claim paid at the right amount, the first time.
How to document your assets, step by step
- Walk through with your phone. Record a video of every room. Open closets and cabinets. Narrate what you’re seeing as you go.
- Build a simple list. A spreadsheet works fine: item, purchase date (your best guess is fine), and price. Start with your highest-value items: furniture, appliances, electronics, tools.
- Keep receipts where you can. If you have them for major purchases, add them to the same file. If you don’t, don’t let that stop you. A dated list is still strong evidence.
- Go further if you want more detail. Apps that build a 3D walkthrough of your home’s interior can add extra weight to a claim, but the video and list above cover the essentials.
- Store it somewhere that survives. Upload the video and list to your BuildSOS profile or a cloud account. A list saved only on a home computer can be lost with the house.
When should you update it?
Once a year, and after any big purchase or renovation. Set a reminder for the same week each year, maybe alongside the 8 photos refresh, so both stay current together.
- Redo the walkthrough video once a year
- Add new purchases as they happen, if you can
- Re-shoot after any renovation or major purchase
- Back up off the phone the same day
Frequently asked
Do I really need a spreadsheet, or is the video enough?
The video is the strongest single piece of evidence, since it shows condition and context together. The list adds specific values and dates, which speeds up how an adjuster processes your claim. Together they’re stronger than either alone.
What if I don’t have receipts for most things?
Use your best estimate for purchase date and price. A reasonable, dated estimate is far better than no record at all.
Where’s the safest place to store this?
Off-site or in the cloud, somewhere that survives if your home doesn’t. Your BuildSOS profile works for this too.
Sources
- Insurance Journal — Insurance Information Institute home inventory survey (2015) · amp.insurancejournal.com
About the author
Andy Kruger
Andy Kruger is CEO of BuildSOS, author of When the Storm Comes, and sits on multiple boards and advisory groups shaping disaster resilience policy and research.
About Andy