Modesto, CA Renters Insurance – Do I Need A Home Inventory?

So you’re thinking of buying a Modesto, CA renters insurance policy?  Great.  That’s 99% of the battle.  But there’s something you’ll want to do along with that, before you have a loss.  It’s called a home inventory.  Fear not, it’s not nearly as daunting as it sounds!  The whole thing might take you all of an hour.  But it’s very, very important if you have a large loss that you need to claim on your Modesto, CA Renters Insurance

The policy limit on your renters insurance in Modesto is the maximum amount that the carrier will pay for a claim.  But they don’t just pay that amount outright because you had a loss.  They need to know the size of the loss so that they can make you whole – if policy limits were paid on every Modesto, CA Renters Insurance claim, you can see how that would create a moral hazard.  “A cigarette was lost to a small fire, write me a check for fifteen grand” is not going to fly.

That’s why you need a home inventory.  You don’t need to catalog every single thing you own, fear not.  It’s not a bad idea to list serial numbers, what you paid, and date of purchase for high-ticket items, of course, but for the day to day stuff there’s a better way.

Do you have a smartphone?  Probably.  As a matter of fact, there’s about a 50% chance you’re reading this page on a phone.  That phone has video capability.  Make sure you have space on your memory card, and then take that phone, start the video camera, and walk around your home taking video.

You’ll want to get a good, slow shot of each wall, generally this is best done from the center of the room.  Make sure you get video of the insides of cabinets, drawers, and the like.  The benefit to this is that the adjuster can pause, fast forward, and get the information they need from that video easily.  The information will also be in a logical progression, wall by wall, room by room, which helps them even more.  It’s difficult for them to work with a zip file of digital images that are generically named and in no particular order.

By doing this, you’ll help any claims you have to file on your Modesto, CA Renters Insurance to go smoothly, and ensure that you’re getting the full value that you’re entitled to if there ever is a loss.  Believe us, after a large loss is not the time to be trying to remember everything you had.  It’s an emotional time, and you’re likely to forget things.  The more you can do to help the adjuster, the easier things are.

Don’t forget to keep the video in question off site, though.  Uploading it to the cloud is fine, as long as you could access it even if your phone were part of the loss.  If you have other questions about renters insurance in Modesto, just call the insurance experts for California renters at (800)892-4308 or click to get covered - whether you need Modesto renters insurance quotes online or coverage anywhere else!

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Photo Credit: Tom Hilton Modesto Arch CC BY 2.0