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Home inventory for insurance: a checklist that actually gets finished
Updated October 2026 · 7 min read
After a fire, flood or burglary your insurer will ask you to list what you lost, often item by item, with values. Doing that from memory, in the worst week of your year, is how people under-claim. Surveys by insurers have long found that only about half of homeowners, and roughly a third of renters, have any inventory at all. Here is how to make one without it taking forever.
What an insurer usually wants
- What it is: a clear name, brand and model for anything valuable (“Samsung 55″ QLED TV”, not “TV”).
- Where it was: the room. It helps adjusters understand the scene.
- Proof it existed: a photo, ideally showing the item in your home.
- What it’s worth: purchase price and date, or an estimate of what it costs to replace today.
- Serial numbers for electronics, bikes, tools and instruments, and receipts or appraisals for jewellery, art and collections.
Policies differ (actual cash value vs. replacement cost, limits for jewellery or electronics), so check yours. This guide is general information, not insurance advice.
The one-weekend plan
Saturday morning: walk and film
Walk through every room and record a slow video: open wardrobes, drawers and cupboards, film the garage and the shed. This alone already beats having nothing. Upload it somewhere that is not your house (cloud storage, or email it to yourself).
Saturday afternoon: the valuables
Photograph anything you would replace for more than about $100, one item per photo, and photograph serial-number labels. Start with electronics, furniture, bikes, jewellery, tools, kitchen appliances and instruments.
Sunday: values and receipts
Add a value to each item. For recent purchases, search your email for order confirmations; for older ones, a rough replacement estimate is fine. Snap paper receipts and warranties and keep them with the item.
Every time you buy something big
Add it the day it arrives. An inventory that is updated in two minutes per purchase stays useful; one that needs another weekend in three years usually doesn’t.
Room-by-room checklist
| Room | Don’t forget |
|---|---|
| Living room | TV, speakers, consoles, rugs, lamps, books and records, art |
| Kitchen | Appliances (fridge, oven, coffee machine, mixer), cookware sets, knives, small electrics |
| Bedrooms | Mattresses, bed frames, clothing (estimate per wardrobe), shoes, bags, watches, jewellery |
| Office | Laptops, monitors, printer, chair, cameras, hard drives |
| Bathroom | Hair tools, electric toothbrushes, shaver, towels and linens |
| Garage & shed | Bikes, power tools, garden equipment, sports gear, camping gear |
| Storage | Seasonal decorations, luggage, boxes you haven’t opened in years (list what’s inside) |
Where to keep it
Not only on a laptop in the house. Keep a copy in the cloud and export a PDF you can email to your insurer or agent. Review it once a year, for example when your policy renews.
How Roomind helps
Roomind keeps your home inventory organised by room, cupboard and box, so it is also useful on normal days (“where are the spare keys?”). Adding, photos, rooms and sharing with your household are free. With Roomind Pro you can add a whole shelf from one photo, get AI value estimates and export a photo insurance report (PDF) with values and totals by room. Photos stay on your phone.