Checklist

Policy review and claim documentation checklist

This is for anyone who wants their coverage and records in order before something goes wrong, and a clear list to follow if it does. Allow a couple of hours for the first pass, or do one section at a time. It is general information, not insurance or financial advice.

1. Gather your policies
2. Review what each policy says
3. Home inventory
4. If you have a loss: first steps
5. What to record during the claim

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Why this order

Gathering policies comes first because you cannot review what you cannot find. Reading the terms comes next, because deductibles, limits and exclusions decide what a claim will look like. The inventory is the part people most often wish they had done earlier: photos and lists made before a loss are far easier than reconstruction afterwards. The last two sections are for the day something happens, and they are worth printing and keeping with your policies.

Why the details matter

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) advises making a home inventory of every room, including valuables, keeping receipts for repairs and new items, storing the inventory somewhere other than your home, and updating it each year. If records are lost, it suggests checking old photos on phones or with family and friends. For a claim, it advises reporting right away (the time allowed varies by state), photographing and recording all damage, listing damaged property for the adjuster, and knowing your deductible before filing, because a claim only makes sense if the loss is above it.

What this checklist cannot do

It cannot tell you whether you are adequately covered, what your policy will pay or whether a claim will be accepted. Those answers are in your policy and with your insurer. Rules, notice deadlines and proof-of-loss requirements differ by state and policy, so read your own policy and ask. If you think a claim was handled unfairly, your state insurance department takes consumer complaints, and the NAIC consumer pages explain how the process works.

Where this comes from

We checked the NAIC consumer articles on what you need to know when filing a homeowners claim and on home inventories, which cover the inventory, receipts, off-site storage, annual update, reporting, damage documentation and deductible points above. The other items are common record-keeping steps; where a point depends on your policy, the checklist tells you to read it.

Go deeper

General information, not insurance or financial advice. Your state insurance department and the NAIC offer consumer help.