How to make a home inventory for insurance

When an insurer asks for an inventory

Most homeowners and renters policies cover personal property, also called contents. When you claim for contents, the insurer usually asks you to list what was lost or damaged and to describe and value each item. The list is often called a contents inventory, a schedule of loss or a personal property inventory.

The request can be thorough. In a United Policyholders survey of 453 households after the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, 57% said their insurer asked them to list and describe every damaged or destroyed item, and some were also asked when or where each item was obtained. Claims professionals interviewed by Insurance Journal said they almost never see a list made before the loss, so most people rebuild it from memory.

An inventory is also useful long before any claim. It helps you choose a contents limit that matches what you actually own, spot valuables you may want to list separately with your insurer, and answer questions quickly if a single item is stolen or broken.

• Filing a contents claim after a fire, flood, storm or burglary
• Choosing or reviewing your personal property coverage limit
• Starting a renters policy or moving to a new home
• Listing jewelry, art or collections separately on a policy
• Settling an estate or dividing a household

What to record for each item

Generic entries like “chair” or “TV” are hard to value. Adjusters look for the details that set the price of a replacement: brand, model, materials, age and condition. Aim for a description someone else could shop from.

You do not need every field for every item. Spend the time on things that would be expensive or hard to replace, and group low-value items such as “kitchen utensils, about 30” where your insurer allows it.

• Item name and a short description (brand, model, material, size, color)
• Quantity, especially for sets, clothing and kitchenware
• Where it is kept: room and, for storage, the shelf or box
• Purchase date and price, or your best estimate
• Estimated replacement cost: what a similar new item costs today
• Serial number for electronics, appliances, tools and bikes
• At least one clear photo, plus a close-up of labels and serial plates
• Receipts, order confirmations or appraisals you already have

Work room by room, then the forgotten places

Go through one room at a time, left to right, and open drawers, cupboards and closets as you go. Photograph shelves as they are before you start moving things. A wide photo of each wall gives you context; close-ups give you the details.

The rooms people struggle to remember are the ones they rarely look at. Claims professionals single out basements, attics, closets and seasonal items as the hardest to reconstruct after a loss, so give them their own pass.

1. Main rooms

   Living room, kitchen, bedrooms and office. Start with furniture and electronics, then shelves and cupboards.

2. Closets and drawers

   Clothing, shoes, bags, linens and small electronics add up quickly. Count rather than itemize where it makes sense.

3. Garage, basement and attic

   Tools, bikes, sports gear, holiday decorations and anything in storage boxes.

4. Valuables

   Jewelry, watches, art, instruments and collections. Record serial numbers, certificates and any appraisals you have.

5. Outside the house

   Patio furniture, grills, garden tools and items in a storage unit, if your policy covers them.

How the list is usually presented to an insurer

Insurers differ, so ask your adjuster which format they prefer. Most accept a spreadsheet with one row per item, supported by photos and receipts. Common columns are item, description, room, quantity, age or purchase date, purchase price and replacement cost.

Supporting evidence carries the most weight when it is easy to match to a row. Name photo and receipt files after the item, or group them by room, so the adjuster does not have to guess which picture goes with which line. Keep a copy of everything you send.

Policies also differ in how they pay. Replacement cost coverage pays what a similar new item costs; actual cash value coverage subtracts depreciation. Recording both the purchase price and the replacement cost covers either case.

Keep the record somewhere the event can’t reach

An inventory only helps if you can open it afterward. A binder in the hall closet, a spreadsheet on the family computer, an external drive in a desk drawer, or photos that live only on one phone all stay in the house with everything else. The same fire, flood or burglary that causes the claim can take the list too.

Keep at least one copy off-site. A cloud-based inventory app, a cloud drive, or a printed copy with a relative all work. The point is that you can sign in from any device, including a borrowed one, and still see every item, photo and receipt.

How Allventory helps

Allventory is a home inventory app built for this kind of record. It works on Android and on the web, including Safari on iPhone, and keeps your inventory in the cloud rather than only on one device.

1. Add a shelf in one photo

   Photograph a shelf or cupboard and Allventory suggests separate items with names, categories, quantities and estimated values. You review the suggestions and choose what to save.

2. Keep the evidence with the item

   Attach photos, receipts and other files to each item. Scan a serial number from a photo, and let receipt reading fill in the purchase date and price for you to check.

3. Record the values adjusters ask about

   Each item has quantity, purchase date, purchase price, estimated value and estimated replacement cost fields.

4. Organize by room and storage spot

   Each property has its own rooms and storage locations, such as Garage / Shelf 2, so the list follows the way your home is laid out.

5. Export when you need it

   Export your inventory to CSV on every plan. Paid plans add Excel and an insurance package for each property: an “Insurance inventory” workbook plus item photos and receipts, as PDFs grouped by location or as original files in folders.

6. Share with your household

   Paid plans let family members view or add items, so the inventory does not depend on one person’s memory.

Keep it current with a few minutes a month

The hardest part is the first pass. After that, add new purchases when they arrive, while the receipt is still in the bag, and review the list once a year or when you renew your policy. Progressive suggests updating at least annually and whenever you buy something significant.

If a full inventory feels like too much, start with the rooms that hold the most value, usually the living room, the kitchen and wherever you keep electronics. A partial list made today is more useful than a complete one you plan to make later.