How to make a home inventory with your phone, in case you ever need to make an insurance claim
Updated · 4 min read
To make a home inventory, walk through every room with your phone and record a video, then photograph each valuable item close up with its serial number or model label, and keep receipts with the pictures. Store one copy away from the house, such as cloud storage or a relative's drive, and update it once a year.
After a fire, burglary or flood, most people cannot remember everything they owned, and an insurer will usually ask you to list what was lost and what it was worth. A dated record made beforehand makes that list far easier to write. It does not decide what the insurer pays: your policy, its limits and exclusions do, so read it and ask your insurer what documentation it wants. This is general advice, not legal or financial advice.
How do I start without it taking all weekend?
Do one room at a time and stop when you are tired. A room a day is enough, and a rough inventory today is worth more than a perfect one you never finish.
Begin with the rooms where the expensive things are (living room, bedroom, home office, garage), and leave the cupboards and the loft for later.
What should I film or photograph in each room?
1. A slow video walk-through: stand in the doorway, turn slowly, then open the wardrobes, drawers and cupboards, and say what you see. Keep it to a few minutes per room.
2. Stills of the room from two opposite corners, so furniture, curtains, flooring and fittings are visible.
3. Close-ups of each valuable item: electronics, appliances, jewellery, musical instruments, tools, bikes, art. Take one photo of the whole item and one of any marks or damage.
4. The serial number, IMEI or model label, where there is one, so the item can be identified later.
5. The inside of wardrobes and drawers, open, because clothes, shoes and bags add up to more than people expect.
What else should I keep with the photos?
- Receipts, invoices, warranty cards and valuations for the expensive items. Photograph paper ones and keep the originals somewhere safe.
- A simple list: item, room, approximate price and year bought. A spreadsheet or a note is fine.
- For jewellery, art or collections, an appraisal if you have one, since your policy may have a limit for such items.
- The policy number and your insurer's claim contact, so you do not have to look for them when you are stressed.
Where should I store the inventory?
An inventory that sits only on a phone in the burnt or flooded house is no use. Keep at least one copy somewhere else: a cloud storage account, a drive at a relative's home, or an email to yourself.
Keep the original files too. Messaging apps and some cloud services shrink pictures or strip data from them, so use those only for the extra copies.
How do I keep it up to date?
- Update it once a year, and after a big purchase, a gift or an inheritance.
- Remove what you have sold, given away or thrown out, so the list matches what you really own.
- Redo a room after you redecorate or move things around.
How do I show when the photos were made?
The iPhone Camera saves the date and time inside each photo, and the coordinates if Location Services is on for the Camera. That data is often removed when photos are sent in a chat app, uploaded to a form or attached to an email, so the person reading the claim may see only the picture.
Check that your phone's date and time are set automatically, and keep the originals. A date printed on the image itself stays visible wherever the file goes, which helps when the question is whether an item existed before the loss. Do not edit or retouch the photos you keep as a record.
Frequently asked questions
- What should a home inventory include?
- A video walk-through of each room, close-ups of valuable items with their serial numbers or model labels, receipts or valuations, and a simple list of item, room, price and year bought.
- Is a video enough, or do I need photos too?
- A video is the fastest way to cover a room, but add close-up photos of valuables and serial numbers, because details are hard to read in a video.
- Where should I keep my home inventory?
- In at least two places, one of them away from the house, such as cloud storage or a drive at a relative's. A copy only on your phone can be lost in the same event as the things it records.
- How often should I update it?
- Once a year, and after major purchases, gifts or when you sell or give things away. Remove items you no longer own.
- Will an inventory guarantee that my insurer pays?
- No. What is paid depends on your policy, its limits and exclusions, and the insurer's assessment. An inventory makes your list of belongings and their value easier to produce and to check.