AGENT PERSPECTIVE

As an insurance agent with a multi-lined company, I see first-hand the types of disasters that can strike a household. Whether it’s fire, tornado, theft, or hurricane, they can happen at anytime. At the beginning of each year during my annual client household review, I always encounter the same question from my clients, how do I account for my personal property? Every customer realizes the importance of documenting their assets to assure that the insured value of an asset can be recovered. As I return the following year for the annual review and ask my clients if they have documented their property, over 90% say they have not done so. That is alarming! Nine out of ten customers have not documented their own assets. Most of the clients who have failed to document their assets, feel that "it" is not going to happen to them. What if "it" does? They simply do not make the time to complete this task. If a fire, tornado, theft, or hurricane were to strike, without proper documentation, these clients would receive a fraction of what their policy would normally pay. If a product were out there today that would simplify the process of asset documentation and be easy to use, I feel that my clients would see it as a priceless addition to their household. This product could save homeowners tens of thousands of dollars. - M. James, Insurance Agent

SURVIVOR PERSPECTIVE

My home was destroyed in the firestorm that ravaged San Diego County. Three hundred and twenty seven homes in our neighborhood were destroyed. It all happened within a matter of minutes. I lost everything I owned. We’ve been working on an inventory going room by room trying to remember what furniture was in there, what was in the various drawers, what items of various clothes... this has taken weeks and weeks... we wish now we would have had all of this written down and kept somewhere outside the house before the fire...we never thought of losing everything so fast in such a devastating event. M. Campbell

ADJUSTER PERSPECTIVE

As an insurance adjuster, I worked with a policy holder who had the foresight to purchase renters insurance when they moved from their parents home into a three-unit duplex. Several months after my client moved in, a tenant in an adjacent unit had an electrical fire that caused major smoke damage to my client’s apartment. A local cleaning company cleaned what they could but the items that couldn’t be cleaned were thrown away before they could be documented. Without having proper documentation of their destroyed assets, my client had a difficult time receiving adequate compensation from their destroyed possessions even though they had the foresight to purchase renters insurance. J. Oldham

ACCOUNTANT PERSPECTIVE

As individuals, we have all been instructed to maintain information pertaining to our personal assets, household furnishings and personal effects in the event of a catastrophic event. As an accountant, I personally advise my clients of the importance of such documentation. Approximately 15 years ago, I purchased a camcorder and proceeded to go through my house to narrate and record the assets within my residence. I placed the video tape in my safety deposit box. I proceeded to "forget about the tape" until my bank was sold and I was notified to close and vacate my safety deposit box. I moved twice since the original recording was made 15 years prior which essentially made the original video tape worthless. Fortunately, I learned a powerful lesson in a painless way. It is important for all individuals and businesses to maintain extensive documentation of their property and keep their documentation current and up to date and kept in a safe, secure place. R.J. Johnson EA, ATA