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How do I Compile an inventory?
When you are about to approach an insurance company for contents
cover, you will need to have made a detailed and thorough inventory.
This enables you to establish how much you need to insure your contents
for. This will help you make the most of your UK home insurance
policy. Your claims will be settled with greater speed, and you
will waste less money on insurance by finding the correct level
for you.
Should you be moving into a new home, make an attempt to take an
inventory as soon as is possible. Otherwise, before you know it,
your life will start to accumulate around your ears.
So, how do you actually make an inventory? Well, you need to visit
every single room in your house. This should be done using a systematic
method, and not forgetting lofts, basements and garages. You should
look at every item in the property, and record each one with a name
and a short description, which includes the make and the serial
number, and an estimation of the cost of each item at today’s
prices.
Use your head, make allowances for both appreciation and depreciation.
How far is the object through its lifespan? How long is the lifespan?
So, for example, you own a sofa that cost £1000, and you know
that it is worth £800 at modern value in the shops. The sofa
has a lifespan of 10 years, and you have had it for 5 year. That
means that it has suffered wear and tear for half of its lifespan,
so it should be valued by you as £400. You should be as accurate
as you can to get the right content insurance.
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Remember to give yourself time to value your inventory. Some items
you will find easy to value. But others, such as art, antiques and
valuables will probably need to be valued by an expert.
You should give your insurers as much information as possible,
especially in terms of changes in your sum insured. Should you sell
a possession of value, you should tell your insurance
company. If you buy a possession of value, you should also tell
your insurer. The insurance companies can adjust your sum assured
according to fluctuations in price and market value. This is called
index linking, and you will not be charged for this between renewal
dates.
However, you will find that not all companies use index linking.
Therefore, every year you should check your sum insured every year
to make sure you are properly covered.
You should keep your inventory and receipts and any documents you
have that relates to your possessions in a safe place with your
policy. These will be very important if you claim.
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