Calculating Your Personal Property Value For Home Insurance

When shopping for home insurance, you will generally be asked to provide an estimate of the value of your home and its contents. This is so the insurance company can calculate the cost of your monthly premiums based on the value of your overall insurance policy. While this may sound like a simple task, there are many additional factors to consider. To help ensure that your home and assets are adequately insured, here are a few tips to help you when calculating the value of your personal property.

Make an Inventory List

Most people aren't really aware of all they own. Regardless of whether you are a tenant in an apartment building or a private home owner, making an inventory list is the first step to ensuring you are adequately covered. Draw up a spreadsheet and have a section for each room. Make several columns with headings such as: Item, Description, Acquisition cost, and Replacement cost.  Start in your bedroom and list every single item. For example, "Item: Necklace; Description: 20 cm long thin gold chain with flower pendant; Acquisition cost: none - received as a gift; Replacement cost: $200." Then move onto furniture, clothing, linen and ornaments. Most often, you will not be able to remember what you paid for a particular item or you may have simply inherited some items of furniture. You may also not be aware of what its current value is. Don't be overly concerned about that at this stage. The important thing is to draw up a list. In this way, you can make sure that you account for all the items in your home. It is often difficult to record items after they have gone missing or been destroyed. It is much easier to make a record when you can still see all the items in your home. Read more...