You just might be – in fact, there’s a better-than-average chance you are – an Oklahoma homeowner who lacks a detailed listing of household valuables that need to be accounted for in the wake of a storm or other adverse event.
Your insurer is probably OK with that. It fact, it might be depending on it.
Think about that for a second. Simply saying that a $10,000 sound system went up in flames is a bit different than conveying that concern in tandem with producing a store receipt and home video footage that shows your now-torched possession.
The point: When it comes to proving insurance losses relevant to your treasured personal items that were destroyed in a tornado, a fire, an explosion of some sort or other calamity, it literally pays to have proof.
Most people don’t. In fact, the publication Consumer Reports estimates that about 70 percent of homeowners nationally do not have any detailed asset inventory they can rely upon in the aftermath of a loss.
Of course, policies do stipulate a payout for damaged or lost property following a covered loss event. As noted in a recent article on recovering the value of lost items, though, making a claim is far easier for a homeowner who is “able to prove … what was in the house before it was damaged.”
There are many ways to do that, ranging from a detailed list of room-to-room items kept online or somewhere outside the home to the aforementioned home video coupled with narration. Receipts are obviously helpful.
Although no one is going to relish the chore, of course, or be fully comprehensive attending to the details, making a reasonable effort to duly chronicle your family’s “stuff” is important when it comes to making a post-loss claim.
An experienced insurance law attorney can provide relevant information on home possessions and inventory lists, as well as provide on-point and diligent representation to any homeowner seeking to recovery from a property-linked loss.