You know summertime is officially here when garage sales start. As you clean out your garages, closets, car trunks and so on, think of it as a great opportunity to also do a home inventory.

What’s a home inventory? It’s a complete list of all your possessions which can come in handy for insurance claims after a major loss, theft, fire or disaster. One handy way is to grab a video camera and film each room, one-by-one.

Here are additional great tips on how to get started (give it a try)!

• When videotaping your home for a home inventory, “consumers should take video inside each room of their home and stand in the middle, turning in a circle to get everything,” says Stephen Hadhazi, publisher of DocuDamage.com.
  
• “Take close up shots above door ways and windows on the inside of the home, also take good video of the brick veneer around exterior windows. What you are doing is documenting that it wasn’t damaged prior to the storm.
• “Taking the short amount of time to video tape these things (with the time/date stamp turned on) will potentially help get tens of thousands of dollars per home paid additional to what the person would have received had they not documented the fact that the home was not damaged prior to the storm.”
• More: Easy Guide to Home Inventory

Welcome back! It’s Day 2 of our week-long spring cleaning series. (Read Day #1 here!)

Spring cleaning can be a lot more than just cleaning out closets and putting winter items away: how about “cleaning” and organizing your financial house as well!

Pick a topic below and get started!

Insurance

Having adequate coverage is key, just in case the unexpected occurs. You never know when Mother Nature might cause a slight disruption in your life, so get ready!

1. How much is your home worth? Do you have enough insurance on your home to rebuild it if it is destroyed? Do you even know how to calculate the amount of insurance you need? Learn how to estimate your home’s value.

2. Am I covered? The more you know and understand about home insurance, the better you can insure yourself and your family in case of loss. Top questions to ask your agent…

3. Get extra coverage. Did you know that most home owner’s insurance policies only cover about $1000 worth of electronics and only $1500 worth of jewelry? Look into extra riders to make sure your possessions are protected…

4. Review your policy. There are about five key events that should trigger a review. The first one is…

Finances

1. Start an emergency fund. Unexpected medical bills, disasters, even car accidents - you should have a pool of money set aside for these little speed bumps of life. Learn how to get started…

2. Do a home inventory. It’s like “found money” - it can help you make your case to the insurance companies when filing a claim after a loss, theft or natural disasters. Learn more…

3. Write a will and name beneficiaries for major policies. Take care of your finances for your loved ones before it’s too late. Start today.

That’s Day 2! Check back tomorrow for tips on how to prep your home for the spring severe weather season ahead. Have a tip? Post it in the Comments section below!

One of my favorite bloggers, Trent of The Simple Dollar, has a great list of 100 little steps you can take to save money. I listed my favorite six tips here - visit his site for the rest!

Car Maintenance

24. Clean your car’s air filter. A clean air filter can improve your gas mileage by up to 7%, saving you more than $100 for every 10,000 miles you drive in an average vehicle. Plus, cleaning your air filter is easy to do in just a few minutes - just follow the instructions in your automobile’s manual and you’re good to go.

61. Air up your tires. For every two PSI that all of your tires are below the recommended level, you lose 1% on your gas mileage. Most car tires are five to ten PSI below the normal level, so that means by just airing up your tires, you can improve your gas mileage by up to 5%. It’s easy, too. Just read your car’s manual to see what the recommended tire pressure is, then head to the gas station. Ask the attendant inside if they have a tire air gauge you can borrow (most of them do, both in urban and rural settings), then stop over by the air pump. Check your tires, then use the pump to fill them up to where they should be. It’s basically free gas!

Identity Theft

35. Remove your credit card numbers from your online accounts. It’s easy to spend online when you have your card information stored in an account - just click and buy. The best way to break this habit is to simply delete your card from the account. That way, when you’re tempted to spend, you’ll be forced to spend the time to dig out your card - and really think about why you’re spending this money. (And it could prevent identity theft!)

Child Care

36. Give a gift of a service instead of an item. For new parents, give an evening of babysitting as a gift. If you know pet owners, offer to take care of their pets when they travel. Offer up some lawn care as a gift to a new homeowner. These are always spectacular gifts for anyone - I know that, as a parent of a toddler and an infant, I love receiving a babysitting gift, probably more than any “stuff” I might receive.

50. Swap babysitting with neighbors.…Try to find another set of parents or two that you trust, and swap nights of babysitting with them. That way, you’ll get occasional evenings free without the cost of a babysitter, saving you some scratch.

Home Inventory

39. Reevaluate the stuff in the rooms in your house. Go into a room and go through every single item in it. Do you really need that item? Are you happy that it’s there, or would you be just fine if it were not? If you can find stuff to get rid of, get rid of it - it just creates clutter and it might have some value to others. You also improve the perceived value of your house - and you’re likely to get a lot of cleaning done in the process. It’s a frugal win-win-win. (While you’re at it, do a home inventory of the stuff you’re keeping!!)

Source: The Simple Dollar

This is the second half of the article “Insurance Riders: Do I Need One” written by our guest insurance blogger, Stephen Hadhazi. Missed the first part? Read it here!

What’s the difference between replacement cost value and actual cash value? Does it really matter what coverage I have on my home owner’s policy? Stephen Hadhazi, a certified public insurance adjuster, tackles the answers to these very questions:

Personal Property Limits

The contents of your home are generally insured for 50% to 75% of the total dwelling limits. If you carry $100,000 of insurance on your home, you may have personal property coverage of $50,000 to $75,000 depending on your policy’s provisions. Is it enough?

Further, depending on the type of replacement coverage you carry, the contents of your home could be dramatically underinsured. There is a huge difference between Replacement Cost Value endorsement which will replace your possessions with brand new, like-kind items and Actual Cash Value, which depreciates the possessions and pays only a fraction of their original cost.

In many cases, however, the term Replacement Cost Value reimbursement can be a slight misnomer both on personal property and structural claims. Nationally, many Replacement Cost Policies state that they will pay only the Actual Cash Value until such time replacement has been completed and you send them proof of the replacement.

Under such circumstances, you should also be aware that reimbursement of the full depreciated amount is also contingent on you spending at least the amount of the replacement cost amount allowed by your insurance company.

For example, you filed a claim for damage to a five year old sofa and your insurance company allowed a Replacement Cost Value (RCV) of $2000. You agree that the average useful life expectancy of the sofa would be ten years. The adjuster then depreciates the sofa at the rate of 50% leaving you an Actual Cash Value (ACV) of $1000.

The adjuster then writes you a check for $1000 and then tells you that you have a certain amount of time, usually 6-12 months, to replace the sofa and file for reimbursement of the $1000 they held back in depreciation under the Replacement Cost benefits of your policy. You then find a suitable replacement couch on sale for $1,500.

You eagerly send in your receipt to your insurance company expecting to receive the $1000 they held back in depreciation. However, you’re also limited by what you actually spent for replacement so instead you get a check from your insurance company for an additional $500 with a thank you note for saving them $500.

Check back tomorrow for the conclusion of Stephen’s article, complete with a list of personal property limits for most policies.

On Friday I wrote about the top four things apartment dwellers should do when they move into a new place. I’ve just moved into an apartment and turns out I didn’t accomplish everything on that list over the weekend!

#1: I do have renter’s insurance but need to check my coverage.

#2: I’m still short a fire extinguisher, however, I do have a flashlight, smoke alarm, a small first aid kit, canned food and extra water. Next step is to put key items together in a box so I can grab them in a hurry. And purchase a weather radio!

#3: I didn’t write down an escape plan but I thought about it. I’ve got windows in every room and just outside the windows is the roof of a row of businesses which I could climb on to, plus I’ve spotted the only two entrances of the building.

#4: I haven’t done a home inventory of everything in my apartment, but I have taken a picture and written down the serial number and details of my laptop. Next step would be to take pictures of each room.

Life gets busy. But you also never know when a disaster might happen - after all, tornadoes and fires don’t make appointments. Pick at least one task to do today and get started!

Just moved in? Lived in an apartment for a while? Share your tips in the Comments section below!

We’re working on a few stories on dealing with damages and insurance claims after a storm - and instead of making you wait for the published articles, I just had to share a few tips with you right now! Yes, they’re that good!!

I spoke with Stephen Hadhazi, a public insurance adjuster in Houston, TX, and the publisher of DocuDamage.com. (Click here to learn more about his site.) He offered up some of the best tips I’ve heard about conducting a home inventory:

• When videotaping your home for a home inventory, Stephen says “consumers should take video inside each room of their home and stand in the middle, turning in a circle to get everything.”
• “Take close up shots above door ways and windows on the inside of the home, also take good video of the brick veneer around exterior windows. What you are doing is documenting that it wasn’t damaged prior to the storm.”
• “If someone lives in a pier & beam style home (home on blocks) rather than on a concrete slab, it could be useful to videotape someone holding a level to the foundation showing that the house was level.”
• “One of the most trying experiences following a hurricane is when the adjuster tells you that he believes like the cracking around the doors or windows is just ’settling’ which is excluded under the policy,” says Stephen.
• “Taking the short amount of time to video tape these things (with the time/date stamp turned on) will potentially help get tens of thousands of dollars per home paid additional to what the person would have received had they not documented the fact that the home was not damaged prior to the storm.”

Thanks to Stephen and DocuDamage.com!

Want to read the whole insurance story? Sign up for our free biweekly newsletter (click here and fill in the fields on the right hand side of the page)!!

Congratulations! You’ve made through the Get Ready Month series.

During the entire month of May, the WhatHappensNow.com blog has been publishing a series called the “Get Ready Month“, a series written for anyone who wants to be better prepared for life’s unexpected surprises such as fires, emergencies or disasters.

Haven’t completed all the steps or missed a day? Below is a complete summary of the Get Ready Month with direct links to past weeks and days. Click on any link to get started.

Week 1: Prepare Your Family

• Welcome to Get Ready Month!
• Start Dialing
• Know Your Numbers
• Storm Power
• The Great Escape
• Evacuation Plan

Week 2: Prepare Your Resources

• What You Need
• The Whole Kit and Caboodle
• Roadside Ready
• Data Mine

Week 3: Prepare Your Home

• Your Home, Your Stuff - Insure It
• Home Inventory
• Home Inventory Tips
• Indoor Precautions
• Outdoor Precautions
• Monthly Maintenance Checklist

Week 4: Prepare for the Unexpected

• S.O.S.
• Filing a Claim
• Quick Tip - When the Siren Sounds
• Damaged Goods
• FEMA

Week 5: Get Ready Month Wrap-Up

• Expert Advice
• With a Little Help From Our Friends

Remember, the Get Ready Month is YOUR resource so you can pick and choose which topics you’re interested in and go at your own pace.

Want more disaster and emergency preparedness information? Head to our Help Center, Be Prepared, Articles or Links sections for additional tips.

Along with disaster information, those sections will also link you to information on other topics including accidents, theft, life events, travel and so on.

Thanks for reading our Get Ready Month series. Have any questions or comments about the series? Post them in the Comments section below or email me!

Along with the experts, we’ve received numerous pieces of advice directly from those who have experienced a fire or natural disaster. Here are the best pieces of advice:

Disasters

• Are your important records in your computer or a DVD? You may lose a DVD or computer by theft or fire – and you won’t have access to your info! Print all important records, home inventory lists and copy any videos or photos and give them to a friend or relative for safe keeping and easy access in case of an emergency.
• Always have extra cash on hand (at least $100 or so) because ATMs and credit card machines won’t work if there is no electricity. Do this even if you aren’t planning to evacuate.
• Have to evacuate? It’s important to bring something that comforts both you (a good pillow) and your children (a favorite stuffed animal or blankey) when you leave your home. And, remember to bring the three P’s when you leave: pets, pills and pillows.
• Are you evacuating your home and can’t bring everything with you? Place breakable valuables in your dishwasher for safekeeping - it’ll act like an individual safe. Also, put art between mattresses to protect it from damage.
• After a disaster: “Be very wary of …the ‘catastrophe chasers’ who come into town and pretend that they’re going to help you rebuild at a reasonable cost,” according to Hurricane Katrina survivor Charmaine Neville. “That’s where people get hurt later on.”
• Read more from Hurricane Katrina survivors…

Fires

• Listen up! Make sure you can hear the smoke alarms in every part of your home. Some brands make systems that sound all alarms when one alarm is triggered; when you’re purchasing your alarms, ask how they function.

• Lost part of your home or possessions to fire? Take pictures of EVERYTHING. You’ll need visual proof for insurance claims. What can help speed up the claim process is a home inventory list of all your lost, damaged or missing belongings.
• “It’s awful work to catalogue everything that was lost. It took weeks,” according to Hurricane Katrina survivor Amasa Miller. “But that work was worth a lot of money. The better your list is…the more chance you’ll have of getting a good claim. You have to look at that labor like it’s earning you more money per hour than anything else you’ll ever do in your life.”

Head to our Stories section to see additional tips from readers. Have a tip you’d like to share? Post it in the Comments section below.

Wouldn’t be nice if there was a checklist to remind you of all the emergency preparedness tasks we remind you to do each month?

….Ta-da! Here’s a quick rundown of all the tasks you should do each month. Print out the list and add on your home improvement, cleaning and other maintenance tasks.

Check Your Supplies

1. Find extra batteries (whatever you have on hand - AA, AAA, C)

2. Test all smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors (read the manual for instructions).

• Change batteries if you haven’t done so in 6 months or more.

3. Find and test all flashlights.

• Change the batteries if needed. (Don’t use high end batteries (lithium, ultra, etc.) for flashlights. Too much power will burn out the flashlight’s bulb.)
• Keep a flashlight by each family member’s bed. Have extra flashlights in handy places – kitchen, closets, garage.

4. Check the items in your home emergency preparedness kit to see if they’re all there.

• Change out the bottles of water and canned food items if they’re well-past their expiration date (or after 6 months or so).
• Test the batteries and flashlights.
• Also, consider changing out your supply of medications if it’s well-past its expiration date.
• Change in season? Add extra items to your kit for summer (sunscreen, mosquito repellent, baseball caps, shorts, t-shirts) or winter (hats, mittens, gloves, snowpants, scarfs, etc.).
• Make sure to put the home emergency preparedness kit back where it belongs (in an accessible location).

5. Check your Car Emergency Kit.

• Include water, first aid, and a way to signal need for help, test flashlight & batteries, warm blankets, a shovel, and a battery-operated radio.

Fire Safety

1. Check the levels of all fire extinguishers.

• Call to have these refilled if needed. Make sure that the extinguishers are returned to their proper storage places.

2. Make sure your fire escape ladders are easily accessible and stored near second or third storey windows.

3. Check your appliances’ (toasters, coffee makers, hair dryers and irons, for examples) cords and plugs for cracks or frayed areas.

• Discard these items if there are signs of damage.

4. Clean the dryer vent and area around the dryer on a regular basis, since lint buildup can lead to fires.

• Be sure to rinse out the lint trap as well. Learn more…

5. Clean stove, oven and microwave after cooking to prevent grease fires.

Practice Makes Perfect1. Practice your escape plan with all family members. Click here for instructions on how to create and practice your escape plan.

2. Do a “disaster supply kit” drill.

• Choose a night when all of your family is at home.
• Turn off the TV and lights, don’t use the faucets, fridge or the stove.
• Wait and see what items might be missing (special needs for family members, entertainment items, can opener, etc.). Make a list and add these items to your kit.

3. Review your evacuation route(s) – just in case you’ll need to leave your home in a hurry.

Keep Records

1. Update your WHN Contact List, if needed.

• Print copies of the Emergency Contact List and keep them by your phones for easy access. Review with family members on how to call for help.

2. Update your home inventory if a major purchase has been made or significant renovations are undertaken in your home or on your property.

Print out this list and add on your home improvement, cleaning and other maintenance tasks.

Yesterday we talked about creating a home inventory.

Every firefighter, police officer or first responder we have interviewed says that a home inventory is the most important thing a family can do to prepare for the unexpected.

Why create a home inventory? It’s easier to write the details now - it’s harder after a traumatic event like a break-in or a house fire.

Taking an inventory of your entire home can seem daunting but here are a few home inventory hints:

1. Print our room lists. These have been created with help from firefighters and people who have lost their homes.

2. Do one room at a time. Consider doing one room each weekend to break it up a bit.

3. Video tape and narrate as you focus on the big items like couches, tables, electronics, art, etc.

• Include information like “I bought this TV in 1998 with my VISA card. I got it at Best Buy and it cost $400. The receipt and warranty are in (file cabinet, safe deposit box, etc.).”

4. No video camera? Take photographs and label them with the same info above. Consider holding a ruler next to items to show the dimensions.

• If you use a digital camera, you can load the inventory list on the same CD as your photos.

5. Whether you’re talking or writing, describe each item, its brand name, make, model, serial numbers and the price. Include any other information you think might be helpful.

6. More tips…

Created a home inventory? Share your tips in the Comments section below!