Make,sure,you,know,what,you,own.,After,a,loss,is,a,terrible,time,to,try,to,remember,what,you,had,and,what,is,now,lost.,For,20,years,now,I,have,been,asking,clients,the,simple,question:,How,many,pairs,of,socks,do,you,own?,Not,once,in,20

Make sure you know what you own. After a loss is a terrible time to try to remember what you had and what is now lost. For 20 years now I have been asking clients the simple question: How many pairs of socks do you own? Not once in 20 years has anyone answered it definitively.

Can you imagine sitting down after a fire has destroyed everything and trying to remember everything you owned and lost by memory. No one will ever remember everything.

The first step is to know what you own. Take inventory of your personal property. Take the time to think about how much you have and what it would take to replace it. Start at one end of your home and document it either in writing, pictures (better), pictures and writing (even better), video (even more better), and video with audio and if needed writing (the best).

This list or video will serve to remind you of the details and will help jog your memory when it comes time to provide an adjuster with your list. He or She can’t replace something you forget to tell them about.

Especially take time to document any property you own that is unusual or unique with as much information about it as you can such as serial numbers, model #’s etc.. Take the time to show brand names and if possible where you purchased it at.

Emphasize any unusual amounts of a particular item you might have. An adjuster won’t necessarily require you to document ownership of 20 pairs of socks but if you said you had 3000 they will expect some sort of documentation.