Free Home Inventory Checklist for Insurance: Room-by-Room Inventory, Valuables List, and a Coverage Check by Room (PDF, Word, Excel)

What is on the page

Brand, model and serial number

Insurers and police use them to value and identify items. Photograph the label rather than copying long numbers.

Cost and replacement value

What you paid and what it would cost to buy the same thing new today. Replacement cost policies pay the second; actual cash value policies pay less for older items.

Photo and receipt

A tick when there is a photo or a receipt for the item. A slow video walk-through of each room, opening drawers and closets, is quick and very useful.

Scheduled

On the valuables list, whether the item is listed individually on your policy (a rider or floater). Standard policies often limit jewelry, art and collectibles.

Coverage limit and gap

On the summary, your personal property limit compared with the total value of what you own. A negative number means you are under-insured.

How to make a home inventory

Work one room at a time and start with the most valuable rooms. First take a slow video of each room: walk around, open closets and drawers, and say what things are as you go. Then fill in the room sheet with the larger items, adding brand, model and serial number for electronics and appliances (a photo of the label is enough). Do not forget the things people rarely list: clothing and shoes add up quickly, as do books, kitchen equipment, tools, sports gear and everything in the garage or a storage unit. For groups of small things, one line with an estimate is fine ("about 180 books"). The whole house usually takes a weekend; after that, add new purchases as you make them.

Valuables need extra attention

Standard homeowners and renters policies often cap what they pay for certain categories, especially jewelry, watches, furs, silverware, art, collectibles, cash and firearms, sometimes at a few thousand dollars or less for theft. Check your policy for these "special limits". Items worth more can be scheduled individually on a rider, usually with an appraisal or a receipt. In the sample, the ring and the watch are scheduled; the silverware is over the policy's silver limit and the pearls use up most of the jewelry limit, so both are worth discussing with the agent. Keep appraisals with the list and have them updated every few years, as values change.

Is your coverage enough?

Most people are surprised by the total. The summary sheet adds the rooms and the valuables and compares the result with the personal property (contents) limit on the declarations page of your policy. In the sample, a two-bedroom apartment comes to about $51,000 of belongings against a $30,000 renters policy, so the renter is under-insured by roughly $21,000. Raising a renters policy limit is often inexpensive. Also check whether the policy pays replacement cost or actual cash value which deducts depreciation and pays much less for older items.

Keep a copy somewhere else

An inventory that burns with the house is no help. Save the sheets, photos and video to a cloud account, email a copy to yourself, or keep a printed copy at work or with a relative. Update it once a year, a good time is when the policy renews, and after any big purchase. After a loss, the inventory gives the adjuster a complete list straight away, which usually means a faster and larger settlement. For moving, the same inventory doubles as the list for the moving company; see the moving checklist.

Editing the files

The PDFs are fillable. Use one room sheet per room; in Excel, copy the sheet for each room and the totals update automatically. The valuables list totals values, and the summary compares your total with the coverage limit. This is a record-keeping tool; ask your insurance agent about the right coverage for you.

Questions

What should a home inventory include?

Every room, closet, garage and storage space: furniture, electronics, appliances, clothing, kitchen items, tools, sports gear and valuables, with descriptions, serial numbers, purchase dates, prices, replacement values and photos.

Do renters need a home inventory?

Yes. Renters insurance covers your belongings, and an inventory shows how much coverage you need and makes any claim easier.

What is the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value?

Replacement cost pays what it costs to buy a new equivalent item today. Actual cash value pays that minus depreciation, so older items are worth much less.

Do I need to list every item?

List larger items individually and group small things with an estimate, like "about 40 kitchen utensils". Photos and video fill the gaps.

Where should I keep my home inventory?

Somewhere other than the home: a cloud account, email, or a copy at work or with a relative. Update it yearly and after big purchases.