MOORE, Okla. - Independent insurance adjuster Alice Young from Brown O'Haver wants all of us to inventory our home by taking pictures or video recording all of our possessions.
"The next step is to keep a worksheet and say, ‘Okay, I got this couch in this state and I paid this much,” she said. “’If it's a TV, it's this size, it’s this make, it's this model.’”
A paper trail, though, won't do you any good if it goes up in flames with your house.
That's why keeping a digital copy is so important, uploading photos and your inventory to free online storage spaces, like Dropbox or Google Drive.
“If you are a person who likes to have an actual hard copy of it and you know where it's at, you can make a copy, put it in a security box or friend's house,” Young said.
Should your stuff get damaged, Young said, don't just go with the first contractor or restoration company that shows up at your front door.
“Did you buy your car without knowing how much it costs? No,” she said. “So, why would you let a restoration company come in take all of your clothes, all of your stuff and not even know how much they're going to charge you.”
There is no hurry.
“If you sit back and relax, talk to your family, you'll make better decisions and be glad for it,” she said.
- App that walks you through the inventory process. Here's another one.
- Young reminds us to hold onto your damaged items until the adjuster gets a good look at them.
- You also have a right to be paid by your insurance company what a restoration company would be paid to pack out, clean and store your stuff.