Built by Richard Vaughn, CPCU, ARM, AIS — 35 years in commercial lines P&C, workers' comp TPA founder, and independent insurance consultant.

Home Inventory for Insurance (Free)

A room-by-room inventory you can complete in an afternoon with your phone. Each sheet captures item, quantity, purchase date, cost, estimated replacement cost, whether you have a receipt, and a photo reference. The Summary sheet totals every room and flags items that exceed a sublimit you set.

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Who it is for

Homeowners and renters who want a record before a loss, and anyone whose policy carries sublimits on jewelry, art, collectibles, or electronics.

What is inside

  • Sheets for living room, kitchen, bedrooms, office, garage, and other with the same columns
  • Item, quantity, purchase date, cost, replacement cost estimate, receipt Y/N, photo reference, category dropdown
  • Totals by room and a Summary sheet with a scheduled-items flag above a user-set sublimit
  • Notes on replacement cost versus actual cash value and typical sublimit categories (figures marked as examples)
AI prompt pack: fill this template with ChatGPT or Claude

Paste the prompt below into ChatGPT or Claude together with your own documents (declarations pages, certificates, P&L, contracts). It is written to return results in this template's column order.

You are a personal lines claims adjuster. I will paste a list of items from one room. Assign each a category, estimate a replacement cost range, and tell me which items are likely subject to a sublimit on a standard homeowners policy so I can ask my agent about scheduling them. Output the rows in the column order of my Home Inventory spreadsheet.

Check anything an AI tool returns against the source document before you rely on it. The prompt is a starting point, not a substitute for reading the policy.

Questions

What is the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value?

Replacement cost is what it costs to buy the item new today; actual cash value is replacement cost minus depreciation for age and wear. Many policies pay ACV first and the balance after you replace the item.

What are sublimits?

Caps on specific categories such as jewelry, firearms, silverware, art, and business property, often a few thousand dollars per category. If a category total exceeds the sublimit, ask your agent about scheduling those items. The example figures in the Notes sheet are illustrations, not your policy.

Where should I keep the inventory?

Anywhere outside the house: cloud storage, email it to yourself, or give a copy to a family member. An inventory destroyed in the same fire as the contents is not useful.

Do I need receipts for everything?

No. Photos, a video walkthrough, credit card statements, and manuals all help. Note on each row what you have.

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Use the letter generators in your browser, or download the free home inventory and proof-of-loss guide.

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