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Document what you own before the storm hits. It's the single most important thing you can do for your insurance claim.
A home inventory is a detailed record of everything you own, its approximate value, and its documentation trail — receipts, photos, serial numbers, appraisals. Most homeowners have no inventory at all. After a major storm, this means filing a claim from memory while stressed, displaced, and competing with thousands of other claimants for adjuster time. An inventory filed with a claim gets paid faster and more fully than one without.
This checklist covers every category of possessions in a typical coastal home, with specific guidance on what information to record, what documentation to keep, and what coverage gaps to watch for.
📸 Also see: Pre-Storm Photo Documentation Guide →An inventory that just lists "Samsung TV" and "sofa" will not help you much. An inventory that records model number, purchase price, purchase date, current estimated replacement value, and has a photo of the serial number and the receipt is what adjusters and public adjusters actually use to negotiate claims. The difference in claim payout on a major loss can be tens of thousands of dollars.
Critical: Store your inventory outside your home. Cloud backup is mandatory. A USB drive in a fireproof safe at your property may survive a fire but will not survive a storm surge. Email the spreadsheet to yourself and a family member.
Understanding sub-limits before you inventory tells you exactly where your gaps are — and where you need a rider, floater, or separate policy. These are the most common sub-limits in standard homeowner policies on the Gulf and Atlantic coast:
| Category | Typical Sub-Limit | What To Do |
|---|---|---|
| Jewelry and watches | $1,500–$2,500 for theft; higher for fire/storm | Schedule high-value pieces; requires appraisal |
| Firearms | $2,500 for theft; no sub-limit for storm/fire | Schedule collection if theft risk; serial numbers critical |
| Art and antiques | $1,500–$2,500 or excluded | Fine art floater or rider; requires appraisal |
| Wine and spirits | Often excluded or $500 | Specialty wine insurance for collections over $5,000 |
| Cash and precious metals | $200–$500 | Safe deposit box or bank; not insurable above sub-limit |
| Business property at home | $2,500–$5,000 | Home business rider or separate business policy |
| Electronics (aggregate) | Usually no sub-limit but verify | Document all serial numbers; purchase receipts essential |
| Musical instruments | Varies; often $1,500–$2,500 | Musical instrument floater for professional-grade gear |
| Boats and watercraft | $1,500; separate boat policy required above | Separate marine insurance policy |
| Collectibles and memorabilia | $1,500–$2,500 | Collectibles rider or specialty insurer |
One request. Up to 3 free estimates from licensed local contractors. Takes under a minute.
Work through each room systematically. Open every drawer, every cabinet, every closet. The items you forget are exactly the items that get missed on a claim.
Note: Boats, RVs, and ATVs are NOT covered under a standard homeowner policy. Each requires a separate policy. Confirm coverage is current before hurricane season.
For items above standard policy sub-limits — jewelry, art, collectibles, instruments — an appraisal is both required for scheduled coverage and essential for a full claim payout. An inventory entry that says "diamond ring, estimated value $8,000" without supporting documentation will be challenged. An appraisal report from a qualified appraiser is the document that holds up.
Use a GIA-certified gemologist for diamond jewelry or a certified appraiser from the American Society of Jewelry Appraisers (ASJA) or American Gem Society (AGS). Appraisals typically cost $50–$150 per piece. Update every 3–5 years — replacement values change significantly with metal and gem markets.
Scheduled jewelry riders cost approximately 1–2% of appraised value annually — for a $10,000 ring, $100–$200 per year for full replacement coverage with no deductible.
Use an appraiser accredited by the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) or Appraisers Association of America (AAA). Art appraisals are more complex — values depend on artist, provenance, condition, and market — and should be updated every 3–5 years or after significant artist market movement.
Fine art floater policies through specialty insurers (Chubb, AXA Art, Berkley One) typically offer agreed-value coverage with no deductible and worldwide protection.
Professional-grade instruments should be appraised by a luthier or certified instrument appraiser. Vintage guitars, violins, and brass instruments appreciate significantly — an inventory value from 10 years ago may be less than half the current replacement cost.
Musical instrument floaters provide coverage for professional use, travel, and accidental damage beyond what a standard homeowner policy covers.
For homeowners who won't maintain a formal inventory — and most won't — the video walkthrough is the practical minimum. Once per year in April, do a slow, narrated video walk through every room of your home, opening every closet and cabinet, calling out items and estimated values as you go.
This creates a legally useful record of possession and condition — not as organized as a formal inventory but far better than nothing. Upload immediately to cloud storage and email to yourself and a family member outside your metro area.
Narration tip: say the date at the start of every room. "This is the master bedroom, April 15th [year]." The timestamp is evidence.
A storm that damages your home may also damage or destroy anything stored at that property — including a fireproof safe, a local external hard drive, or paper documents. The three-location rule: keep your inventory in at least three locations, and at least one must be cloud-based and at least one must be physically offsite.
If you hire a public adjuster — a licensed professional who represents you (not the insurance company) in a claim — your home inventory is the foundation they work from. A public adjuster with a complete, documented inventory can reconstruct your entire claim systematically and supplement it with depreciation schedules, replacement cost research, and comparable pricing. Without an inventory, their work is significantly harder and their outcome for you is correspondingly lower.
After major Gulf and Atlantic coast storms, public adjusters are in extremely high demand. Homeowners with organized documentation get their attention first — and their best work.
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