Home inventory - a piece of your financial planning

You’ve worked hard for decades, making sound investment decisions to ensure your future is just as you planned. You’re making sure there is enough money for the kids’ college and also for you to enjoy your retirement years. Then imagine that a disaster occurs (fire, burglary, tornado, hurricane – the list goes on), and without an inventory of the contents of your home, you don’t receive a proper financial settlement. Where do you get the money to purchase the remaining items you need?

A home inventory should be a piece of your financial planning. Without having the contents of your home listed and photographed, it would be extremely difficult (probably impossible) to remember all that you own(ed). Victims of disasters state they have great difficulty remembering everything they owned. This is mainly due to the emotional turmoil that is experienced. The stress does not allow for you to think clearly, thus items are forgotten and often remembered too late to meet the 1-year deadline to file a claim.

Another issue that can impede an maximized claim is that high-end items, or a higher-than-average number of items, often require proof of ownership. If you can’t prove that you owned a numerous electric tools, purchased a top-of-the-line stereo system or had a television in just about every room in the house, it is probable that you will not receive a full settlement.

Many people who have endured this situation state they withdrew funds from an investment account. What will that do to your retirement plans? Your children’s college plans? Your financial future? In today’s volatile financial market, are you comfortable that you’re investments would be able to endure a disaster, too?