Author: FloodClaimEditor

Insurance Home Inventory Apps

Taking a Home Inventory for your insurance is a must.

After living through a major flood insurance claim in my home, I can’t tell you how valuable of a tool this is.   I will make sure to mention one thing of course, it’s all about your adjuster! That’s why making a home inventory is ever more critical because if you don’t have a good adjuster, they are not going to think of all the little things that make your home or apartment unique.  Even good adjusters often miss things.

So let’s break this up into 2 Coverages to focus on ..

Contents and Building coverage..and you should prepare an insurance inventory even if you have a renters or apartment/condo insurance policy.

On Contents (this includes your apartment/condo owners or renters) let’s break this down into major categories;

  • Furniture
    Un-fixed appliances (I’ll explain)
    Electronics
    Clothing
    Fine possessions..( Jewelry, Art, Memorabilia.. Must be valued)
    Books
    Children’s Toys
    Throw rugs or floor carpets
    Personal power tools and equipment
    Recreational equipment such as Bicycles or fitness equipment..

Wow! Who would have thought about all that stuff.  Even in a small one bedroom apartment this can amount to over $50,000 very quickly.

Here are the basics,
1. Scan all receipts for purchase of these items if you have them.  This should be easy and only take a few seconds per receipt.

2. Take pictures of everything on this list if possible.  For items such as electronics, un-fixed appliances (appliances not hard wired or connected to the building),  take a main picture of the item and take a picture of the label with model number and serial number as well.  This is because your adjuster will most of the time assume you bought the base model not a higher grade model, so you want make you get what you’re entitled to as a replacement.

3. Categorize the inventory and make sure that info is backed up to the cloud so you grab it quickly if you need it after a loss.

4. Any Jewelry, Art, Memorabilia.. worth over $2,500 should be appraised.  Make sure you place the appraisal in a fire proof safe or bank safe deposit box.

On building coverage please follow the above basics steps. Also if you own a condo, apartment or coop you are responsible for the interior of your unit and appliances. So listen up, here are the major  categories for building coverage:

  • Walls and Floors (type and quality of covering materials, tile, wood, wall paper, and carpet)
    Fixed appliances (those which are permanently attached to Power or water. Think.Washer and Dryer, stove, dishwasher, )
    Doors and mouldings ( it’s critical that you know the type and grade of doors and mouldings in your house)
    Fixtures (lights, fans…)
    Home engineering (Furnace, hot water heater, air conditioner) take a picture of the label with model and serial number.
    Extras… such as Alarm systems, generator, garage door opener, camera systems.. All these items add value.
    Decks
    Roof type materials
    Siding type
    Insulation

Why building items?  Because after a major claim your head is going to be spinning. You’re not going to remember everything and neither is your adjuster.. You need to focus on getting back to normal.  Not only that it will make your Adjusters job easier.

Making an insurance inventory will serve as a nice tool when reviewing your insurance with your agent.

Here are a list of recommended apps to begin making your home inventory and other resources..

https://learningcenter.statefarm.com/residence/insurance-2/creating-a-home-inventory/

Apps
Allstate Digital Locker works on the web, iPhone, or Android.

Evernote and OneNote let you organize photos and text documents across the web and your mobile devices, which makes it a great way to store inventory photos alongside notes containing additional information. Evernote is available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry devices and as a downloadable desktop app. OneNote is available for Windows Phone, Windows RT, Android, iOS and mobile browsers can access OneNote web app. A desktop version available as well.

Google Docs is an online word processing tool that lets you create a basic list of your belongings—and, while it’s not the best place to store images, you can add images to your documents for a complete inventory.l

State Farm HomeIndex works on the web, but can easily be accessed by a mobile device, too.

Liberty Mutual Home Gallery lets you take a photo inventory using your iPhone, iPad, or Android device.

I hope you find this helpful. Please put it on your schedule at best to update the inventory 2 times a year or at least annually.

Good luck..

No Flood Insurance – Unexpected Consequence

Residents on Cabaret Street in San Carlos are tidying up from the repercussions of the current week’s tempests. Many people without Flood Insurance.

“The water’s leaking up every one of the dividers now. We put the furniture up as high as we can put it,” said property holder Pam Mertins.

Mertins indicated FOX 5 a video taken when the tempest hit Wednesday evening. She’s heard freezing when her lawn transformed into a surging waterway.

“The obstructions from the entryways are falling to pieces!” hollered Mertins. “I require somebody here snappy!”

By the following morning, the Mertins’ patio was decreased to rubble.

“This slate porch my spouse spent a lifetime building. Presently it’s gone,” said Mertins.

Compounding an already painful situation, Mertins said she’s not secured.

“We never in our most extravagant fantasies envisioned we needed to have flood insurance,” she told FOX 5.

She’s not alone.

In Point Loma, Kelly Fouquier is picking through her surge splashed flat.

“This sofa was fresh out of the box new. That mid-section was at any rate $2,000,” said Fouquier. “I don’t recognize what I’m going to do. The city nor my proprietor has possessed the capacity to help and my leaseholder’s protection is stating I’m not secured.”

“Flood is not insured,” affirmed Evan Walker.

Walker is a lawyer, but on the other hand he’s a casualty of Hurricane Katrina. He said lamentably, individuals regularly accept they’re secured with regards to flooding.

“The best way to get flood inusrance is through the government,” said Walker. “The issue emerges on the grounds that these approaches are 30-page contracts. It’s brimming with coldhearted, troublesome dialect that even a complex individual is going to discover hard to get it.”

Walker said regardless of the possibility that you’re not guaranteed and your house is harmed, you ought to still call the insurance agency.

“In the event that and when the insurance agency sends somebody who might be listening, archive what they do. Archive the time they spent out there and read your approach,” said Walker.

As El Niño is relied upon to bring effective tempests this winter, Walker urged inhabitants to get surge protection promptly.

“The admonition to that is there will be no less than a 30-day holding up period,” said Walker. “Contact your flood insurance companies and converse with them.”

In San Carlos, occupants said the downpour was from a cracked stormwater channel, which the city of San Diego was cautioned about in October.

“Individuals had turned out however as far as anyone is concerned, no repair had been done they were going to attempt and put it on a need list,” said Mertins.

The channel is presently under repair and the Public Works Department is exploring.

“They’ve been better than average, the city architect was around here,” said Mertins.

Mertins said she and her neighbors are additionally working with the Risk Management Department. In any case, they can’t resist the urge to think about whether every last bit of it could have been stayed away from in any case.

“When you take a gander at this you never in your most out of this world fantasies envision this would happen,” Mertins said through tears. “We would prefer not to experience this we just revamp our home four months back. We have no clue what should do next.”

“The majority of it’s most likely not going to be rescued and it’s truly pitiful,” said Fouquier. “You know, this practically simply made me destitute.”

 

 

 

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