A Checklist Before You Leave to Help with Recovery
Documenting your home and belongings is a crucial step in protecting your Assets and ensuring a smooth recovery after an emergency and Loti offers tools to help. Proper documentation can expedite insurance claims and provide a detailed record of your possessions.
This checklist provides a step-by-step guide to effectively document your home and protect your assets in an emergency.
1. Inventory Your Belongings
a. Create a Detailed Inventory:
Room-by-Room: Go through each room in your home and list all valuable items, including furniture, electronics, appliances, and personal belongings. Loti’s smart Ledger can help manage this for you.
Descriptions: Provide detailed descriptions for each item, including brand, model, serial numbers, and any unique features.
b. Inventory Tools:
Loti Can Help: We have a suite of tools to help you document your belongings alongside stored images to prepare for insurance submissions.
2. Photo and Video
a. Take Photos:
High-Resolution Images: Use a camera or smartphone to take high-resolution photos of each item on your inventory list.
Multiple Angles: Capture multiple angles of each item to show all details and any distinguishing features.
Loti can help:
Storing these pictures in Loti will allow you to sort images by room, attach them to various items and communicate clearly with your insurance carrier.
b. Record Videos:
Walkthrough Video: Record a video walkthrough of your home, narrating the contents of each room and highlighting valuable items.
Zoom In: Zoom in on serial numbers and important details to ensure they are clearly visible.
3. Gather Important Documents
a. Personal Identification:
Copies: Make copies of driver's licenses, passports, and social security cards for all family members.
b. Financial Records:
Bank Statements: Include recent bank statements and contact information for your bank.
Credit Card Information: Document credit card numbers, expiration dates, and customer service phone numbers.
c. Insurance Policies:
Policy Details: Keep copies of all insurance policies, including homeowner’s, renter’s, auto, health, life, and disability insurance.
Agent Contacts: Include contact information for your insurance agents.
Loti can help:
Inputting your insurance info into Loti will allow you to map your belongings and home repairs against the appropriate coverages in your policy for easy communications with your insurance carrier.
d. Legal Documents:
Property Records: Include Mortgage documents, rental agreements, and property deeds.
Vehicle Information: Keep copies of vehicle titles, registrations, and insurance policies.
Estate Planning Documents: Include wills, trusts, and Power of Attorney documents.
4. Store Documents Securely
a. Physical Copies:
Waterproof and Fireproof Safe: Store physical copies of important documents, photos, and videos in a waterproof and fireproof safe.
b. Digital Copies:
Cloud Storage: Upload digital copies of your inventory, photos, videos, and important documents to a secure, password-protected cloud service such as Loti.
External Hard Drive: Keep an external hard drive with digital backups in a secure location, such as a safe deposit box.
5. Regular Updates
a. Review Annually:
Annual Review: Review and update your home inventory and documentation at least once a year.
Life Changes: Update your records whenever there are significant changes, such as new purchases, renovations, or family status changes.
b. Verify Coverage:
Insurance Review: Regularly review your insurance policies to ensure you have adequate coverage for your belongings and any recent additions.
6. Emergency Plan Integration
a. Include in Emergency Kit:
Emergency Kit: Keep copies of important documents and a summary of your home inventory in your emergency kit.
Portable Copies: Consider keeping a portable copy of your inventory and important documents with you during an evacuation.
b. Share with Trusted Contacts:
Trusted Person: Share copies of important documents and your home inventory with a trusted family member or friend who lives in a different location.
Access Instructions: Provide instructions on how to access your digital backups if needed.
Wrap-Up
Documenting your home and belongings is an essential step in protecting your assets and ensuring a smooth recovery after an emergency. By creating a detailed inventory, taking photos and videos, gathering important documents, storing them securely, regularly updating your records, and integrating them into your emergency plan, you can be better prepared for any situation.
Taking these steps today will provide peace of mind and critical support during an emergency.