I’m in the process of making a list of our possessions with an eye to any possible future insurance claims, should our stuff get stolen or damaged in weather or fire. My insurance company wasn’t very forthcoming with information on what they need to know, and we have never made any claims like this, so I’m kinda lost as to what information an insurance agency/police officer would want to see.
I’m planning to record serial numbers for all electronics and collectible art. I’m also making a list of all of our cds, dvds, videos, tapes, etc. (these collections are literally worth thousands of dollars, since we’ve both been collecting for decades). Do insurance agencies want to know what we originally paid for this stuff, and when we bought it, or are they only looking for rough numbers, like 100 cds, 100 dvds, etc? How about things like clothes, bedclothes, and household stuff?
Has anybody had to make a catastrophic claim, and what did you wish you had recorded and were able to give the insurance companies/police? Basically, how can I best keep our butts firmly covered should we ever have to deal with insurance agents?
Depends on the company and the nature/magnitude of the claim. Most folks would be hard-pressed to put together even a moderately accurate list of their possessions and insurance companies have accepted this fact to some degree. Big claims like total fires can sometimes be verified to some extent by the damaged property that isn’t completely obliterated–so you wouldn’t probably have to list the exact model number for your refrigerator. On the other hand, if you have some unusual stuff like an incredible CD/DVD library, several hundred thousand $ in Harmon Kardon stereo, baseball card collection with super valuable items, etc. you may be called upon to prove it existed. An exhaustive list like you’re putting together is good, just make sure you can update it periodically and that you keep it someplace BESIDES in your house. So it doesn’t burn up with everything else. I’ve also known people to videotape their entire home–opening doors, closets, boxes, drawers… It doesn’t make for very exciting viewing, but it can help to support your assertion that you did in fact own the preoperty, and this is where you kept it.
Check to see if your policy covers personal property for Actual Cash Value (ACV) or Replacement Cost (RC). ACV is what you could get if you sold the thing today–it’s a depreciated number based on the purchase price, expected lifetime of the item and its age. RC is what the item would cost to replace TODAY with simlar kind and quality. RC is better.
Again, most folks have a bunch of clothes in various stages of wear, most folks also have an heirloom or two, or some unusual property. Nothing there will raise an eyebrow. But if your primary source of income is a bartender and you live in a 1000 sq ft duplex, and you make a claim for a $100k home entertainment system, a closet full of Armani and a drawing room tiled with original Picassos & Van Goughs…well, you’ll need some proof.
I’m in the same boat, after just hearing of some friends’ friends losing everything in a house fire.
My insurance agent Friday was rather unspecific in outlining what information the home office would want from me, in similar circumstances. Obviously, one doesn’t have carte blanche to put anything on a list of claimed losses, but my agent basically outlined a “Tell us what you lost and we’ll replace it” approach. She said my providing better information (serial #s, receipts, photographs/video) speeds the claims process, but said it was not essential. My guess is the industry expects 99.9 percent of their insureds to lose more than they claim, so they’re more accepting of cheats who may tack a fictitious plasma TV, upscale furniture and designer clothes onto their lists and continue its honor system. Whether this is true is besides me. Sales and claims people rarely see eye to eye.
And remember that some homeowners insurance has some low, specific limits on how much they’ll shell out for things like collectibles. If you have a valuable collection, you’ll need to document it, and you may also have to get a rider for it from your insurance agent (and pay an additional premium, needless to say).
My policy, for example, doesn’t mention things like baseball cards, but it does have a $2500 limit on stamp collections and firearms, a $1500 limit on jewelry and furs, a $200 limit on cash, and so on.
I’m planning to take my exhaustive list to my insurance company, and get their feedback on it, for what it’s worth.
Inigo, I took a course in Records Management that covered vital records - that’s what got me thinking of this to start with. I have every intention of making copies of our list of possessions and keeping them in different locations. 
It also gave me the idea of making up a collection of our personal vital records (marriage/birth certificates, etc) and keeping them somewhere together and easy to grab and head out the door should we ever need to.
Carnac, it never even occurred to me to try to “bump up” our possessions. Some insurance fraudster I would be!
You should be able to get an endorsement or rider on your policy that guarantees replacement cost on your personal possessions (fwiw, I am a licensed insurance agent). Anything especially valuable (artwork, jewelry, etc…) should be listed as a scheduled item on your policy with a certified appraisal (detailed description, replacement value.) As for your other stuff, I suggest walking through your house with a video camera, film everything and give a running commentary, as if you were giving a tour of your home. Keep this video off-premises, someplace safe.
In addition, get a digital camera and take pictures of all the model/serial numbers and reciepts of your high value items. Burn this onto a CD and store it with your tapes. It’s often hard on a video tape to make out small text and it can be hard telling a Widget Mk3 from a Widget Mk5.
Most home policies (okay, all of the ones I’ve ever dealt with in Alberta, NWT, and Ontario) will over personal possessions coverage at a percentage (usually around 70) of the home’s insured value. IE, if you’ve got a comprehensive homeowner’s policy which covers your dwelling building for $200,000, then you will have $140,000 automatic coverage. Things like jewellery, computers, musical instruments, and the like can be added on a separate rider so that you can ensure you get full value based on appraisals or receipts. There are specific limits on certain things, as Early Out mentioned, so make sure you read your wordings!
It doesn’t hurt to have a list o’ stuff on file with your broker, but it’s certainly unusual that clients ever gave it to us. In the event of a claim, you are paid $X as determined by the insurance adjustor. I wasn’t an adjustor and therefore can’t tell you exactly how that value is determined, but it’s good to have receipts on file for big-ticket items like electronics.
Remember, everything will be subject to your deductible, unless you have bought down the deductible on the rider (for jewellery, etc).