Why Every Texas Homeowner Needs a Home Inventory (And How to Make One)

Here is a question most homeowners cannot answer off the top of their head: if your house burned down tonight, could you list everything you owned?

Not just the big items — the furniture, the TV, the appliances. All of it. The contents of every closet, every drawer, every cabinet. The tools in the garage. The clothes in every bedroom. The kitchen equipment. The books. The kids' toys.

Most people cannot. And when they file a personal property claim after a fire, flood, or major theft, that gap costs them real money.

What Happens Without a Home Inventory

When you file a personal property claim, your insurance company will ask you to submit a proof of loss — a detailed list of everything that was damaged or destroyed, along with estimated values.

If you have no records, you are working from memory. Under the stress of a major loss, in the days and weeks after a disaster, most people forget a significant portion of what they owned. Studies suggest homeowners without inventories recover 30% to 40% less on personal property claims than those with documentation.

The insurance company is not trying to shortchange you — they can only pay for what you can prove you owned. Without documentation, you are leaving money on the table that you paid premiums to protect.

The Fastest Way to Build a Home Inventory

You do not need special software or a spreadsheet. The fastest and most effective method is a room-by-room video walkthrough with your smartphone.

Here is how to do it in about an hour:

1. Start at the front door and work systematically Move room by room. Narrate as you go — "This is the living room. 65-inch Samsung TV, purchased about two years ago. Leather sectional sofa. Coffee table..."

2. Open everything Closets, drawers, cabinets, the pantry. The contents of a kitchen alone — cookware, small appliances, dishes, glassware — can add up to several thousand dollars that people routinely forget to claim.

3. Capture serial numbers on electronics and appliances Pause on the back of your TV, your laptop, your refrigerator. Serial numbers help establish ownership and value.

4. Do not skip the garage Power tools, lawn equipment, sporting goods, bikes, and seasonal items are consistently underreported on claims. Walk through slowly.

5. Document high-value items separately Jewelry, firearms, collectibles, art, musical instruments — hold them up to the camera and describe them. These items may need separate documentation for scheduled coverage (more on that below).

Where to Store Your Inventory

This is critical: do not store your home inventory only in your home.

If your house burns down, a video saved only to your phone or a local hard drive is gone with everything else. Store your inventory in:

• Cloud storage — Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, or OneDrive
• Email — send the files to yourself and a trusted family member
• Safe deposit box — a physical backup at your bank

The goal is to have access to your documentation even in a worst-case scenario.

Understanding Your Personal Property Coverage

A home inventory also helps you identify whether your coverage limits are adequate.

Standard homeowners policies cover personal property at 50% to 70% of your dwelling coverage. On a home insured for $400,000, that means $200,000 to $280,000 in personal property coverage — which sounds like a lot until you actually add up what you own.

More importantly, standard policies have sub-limits for certain categories:

| Category | Typical Sub-Limit | |---|---| | Jewelry | $1,500 – $2,500 per occurrence | | Firearms | $2,500 | | Silverware / goldware | $2,500 | | Business property at home | $2,500 | | Electronic data / media | $1,500 |

If you own an engagement ring worth $8,000, a standard policy may only pay $1,500 for it — regardless of your overall personal property limit.

Scheduling High-Value Items

Items that exceed standard sub-limits should be scheduled on your homeowners policy — or covered under a separate personal articles floater.

Scheduled coverage:

• Covers the item for its appraised or agreed value
• Often carries no deductible
• Covers a broader range of losses, including accidental loss (dropping a ring down the drain, for example)

To schedule an item, you typically need a recent appraisal or receipt. Jewelry should be appraised every few years, as values change. Your agent can add scheduled items to your existing policy — it is usually straightforward and the additional premium is modest relative to the coverage.

Replacement Cost vs. Actual Cash Value

One more thing to check on your policy: does your personal property coverage settle on replacement cost value (RCV) or actual cash value (ACV)?

• RCV pays what it costs to replace the item at today's prices
• ACV pays the depreciated value — what the item was worth at the time of the loss

A five-year-old laptop that costs $1,200 to replace today might have an ACV of $300. If your policy settles on ACV, that is what you receive. Replacement cost coverage costs more in premium but pays significantly more when you have a claim.

Make It a Habit

A home inventory is not a one-time task. Update it when you make significant purchases — new furniture, appliances, electronics, jewelry. A quick video of a new item when you bring it home takes two minutes and creates a permanent record.

Set a reminder to do a full walkthrough once a year. Thirty minutes annually is a small investment for the protection it provides.

Questions About Your Coverage?

If you have never reviewed your personal property limits, sub-limits, or settlement basis, now is a good time. We can walk through your current policy and identify any gaps — including whether high-value items in your home should be scheduled separately.

Call or text us at 817.277.6166. A coverage review is always complimentary.