As owners of a personal property (sometimes called home inventory) service, people often tell us stories of what happened to their own families or to their friends.
Here are a few scenarios that have been shared with us.
Let's just imagine it was you.
You're coming home from a family outing.
You see fire engines in front of your house.
Or, actually, what used to be your house.
Severe weather warnings have been up all day, and now the tornado sirens are going off.
You run to the basement just as the tornado sucks your house into the air.
When all is quiet (very quiet), you walk up the stairs from the basement into bright daylight.
And no house...
just a few timbers and household items remain on your property.
You've been on vacation and come home to an empty house.
Your neighbor watched the burglars load up their truck, thinking that you were moving.
Not even a picture left hanging on the wall! Your emotions are raw.
Fear! Anger! Frustration! Sadness! The first and most important thing, of course, is that everyone is OK.
Then, with assistance, you find food, clothing and a place to stay.
Your immediate needs for you and your family are met...
now what? Now it's time to recover.
Now it's time to file your insurance claim.
You will need to list every item you owned that you want to replace.
It doesn't seem hard at first.
You can certainly remember how many sofas, chairs and tables you owned.
And TVs.
But what about clothing? CDs and DVDs and video games? How many books were in the house? How many pictures and decorative items? What about cleaning supplies? Linens? Food? Paper goods? Make-up? Toys? Power tools? Kitchen appliances - mixers, blenders, electric knives, electric can opener, waffle maker, toaster, coffee maker, juicer, iced tea pot, coffee bean grinder? It begins to blur, doesn't it? Now, how about the manufacturer? Can you remember? The next pieces of information you'll need are the model numbers and serial numbers of all the electronics and appliances.
Do you have that information in the form of a personal propety inventory? If you did, are they now burned, blown away or stolen along with the desk they were in? Having your inventory prepared and saved by a nationally certified home inventory professional will help ensure that you will have that information when you need it.
Once your immediate needs are met (food, water, shelter, clothing), there is a lot to do to get your family back to where you were before the loss.
Does your memory serve you well enough to be able to file a maximized claim? And do it quickly? The sooner you can file your claim, the sooner you'll receive your settlement and the sooner you'll start rebuilding.
The assistance from an inventory professional is essential at this time.
Here are a few scenarios that have been shared with us.
Let's just imagine it was you.
You're coming home from a family outing.
You see fire engines in front of your house.
Or, actually, what used to be your house.
Severe weather warnings have been up all day, and now the tornado sirens are going off.
You run to the basement just as the tornado sucks your house into the air.
When all is quiet (very quiet), you walk up the stairs from the basement into bright daylight.
And no house...
just a few timbers and household items remain on your property.
You've been on vacation and come home to an empty house.
Your neighbor watched the burglars load up their truck, thinking that you were moving.
Not even a picture left hanging on the wall! Your emotions are raw.
Fear! Anger! Frustration! Sadness! The first and most important thing, of course, is that everyone is OK.
Then, with assistance, you find food, clothing and a place to stay.
Your immediate needs for you and your family are met...
now what? Now it's time to recover.
Now it's time to file your insurance claim.
You will need to list every item you owned that you want to replace.
It doesn't seem hard at first.
You can certainly remember how many sofas, chairs and tables you owned.
And TVs.
But what about clothing? CDs and DVDs and video games? How many books were in the house? How many pictures and decorative items? What about cleaning supplies? Linens? Food? Paper goods? Make-up? Toys? Power tools? Kitchen appliances - mixers, blenders, electric knives, electric can opener, waffle maker, toaster, coffee maker, juicer, iced tea pot, coffee bean grinder? It begins to blur, doesn't it? Now, how about the manufacturer? Can you remember? The next pieces of information you'll need are the model numbers and serial numbers of all the electronics and appliances.
Do you have that information in the form of a personal propety inventory? If you did, are they now burned, blown away or stolen along with the desk they were in? Having your inventory prepared and saved by a nationally certified home inventory professional will help ensure that you will have that information when you need it.
Once your immediate needs are met (food, water, shelter, clothing), there is a lot to do to get your family back to where you were before the loss.
Does your memory serve you well enough to be able to file a maximized claim? And do it quickly? The sooner you can file your claim, the sooner you'll receive your settlement and the sooner you'll start rebuilding.
The assistance from an inventory professional is essential at this time.
