Imagine that you’re on a beach vacation with your family. You slide into a beach chair, relaxing under the warmth of a tropical sun. Suddenly, you receive a frantic phone call from one of your neighbors. When she calms down, she is able to speak clearly.
“There was an electrical fire! Your house is burning!”
By the time you quickly gather up your family and return home, there’s nothing left. The structure of your house is still smoking, bearing char-marks that signify an intense, high-heat fire. All of your furniture, personal belongings, electronic equipment and other items – burned beyond recognition.
The fictional scenario described above is unlikely, but it does highlight the importance of being prepared for a catastrophic event in your home. For example, preparing for a house fire could involve: purchasing a fire-proof safe for important documents, installing smoke alarms, or having a smoke-detecting monitored home security system. However, if you have homeowner’s insurance, you may be able to have your insurance company cover the cost of replacing what you lose in a disaster. This process requires you to be organized, and to possibly have entered your belongings into a home inventory software program.
What is Home Inventory Software?
Home inventory software is a program that will allow you to take inventory of all of the important items in your home. Certain types of programs have different features, which can even be used to determine the value of each item in your home. Some insurance companies often have a specific amount of coverage available for certain “types” of belongings, such as computer equipment.
Included Features
Depending in the program that you use, there are several different functions that you can assign to your home inventory software. Some of the potentially included features are:
Room Assignments
Some home inventory programs allow you to assign each belonging to a specific room. In the midst of a crisis, it’s easy to forget to account for many items. This feature can also be used in a burglary, in order to check your inventory list against the items that you believe to be missing.
Secure Storage
Home inventory software may also allow you to store your inventory information on a secure server in a remote location. This means that even if your computer becomes damaged or destroyed, you will still have access to your inventory information. This feature can be useful when attempting to make a claim for items destroyed in a catastrophic event.
Value Estimation
Some home inventory software programs allow you to enter an approximate value for each item that you list in the program, while other programs do this automatically. This allows you to gain a general estimate of the value of the items that are contained within your home, which is also useful for insurance purposes.
Maintenance Schedule
Apart from allowing you to inventory the items in your home, inventory programs may also have a feature that alerts you when one of your listed items is scheduled to receive maintenance.
Update Capability
If you acquire a new expensive item for your home, most home inventory software programs will allow you to update your home inventory to list the new item.
Photo Integration
Your home inventory software may also allow you to store photographs of specific items or rooms. This feature can be extremely useful, as you can provide photographic proof to your insurance company of an item being damaged or destroyed.
Insurance Reporting
Depending on the type of home inventory software that you use, you may be able to submit information directly from the inventory program to your insurance company. Some insurance companies will also require you to file a report per item submitted, such as a damage report, a police report or photographs.
