How to Estimate the Value of Electronics for Home Insurance

When it comes time to buy a home insurance policy, you may be focused in on how much your home is worth. That’s a good place to start, but it does not represent the total value of your policy. In fact, you’ll need to take a close look at what you own to ensure your new plan offers plenty of financial protection for everything you own including your electronics. Today, more people own higher end electronics and more of them. Before you obtain a new home insurance plan, take the time to estimate the value of what you own.

What Do You Own?

Go from one room of your home to the next and write down what types of electronics you own. It’s also a good idea to take a photo of each item that you can later use as an inventory or record of your ownership. This may include computer equipment, tablet computers, mobile phones, televisions, high-end security systems, cameras, and much more. Once you have a good inventory of what you own, you can start to work on estimating the value of those items.

What is it Worth?

Before you consider the actual dollar amount value of anytime, consider how you would like to be reimbursed if those items are lost under a covered claim. For most electronics, the actual value of the items isn’t enough. In this type of situation, if your item is lost, the insurer would pay the value of the item at the time of your claim. Since electronics depreciate in value quickly, that may not be enough to help you replace the item. This is why replacement value may be a better route to take.

In all situations, you should use:

• Receipts
• Appraisals of high-end items
• Replacement value from current manufacturers

This information can help you to determine the value of each item you own. It’s always a good idea to consider the monetary value of items like this, but also the sentimental value that may be at play. That old camera from the 1950's may hold a great deal of sentimental value. Work with your home insurance company to determine the best level of coverage based on what you own and work to keep that amount updated year to year.

Call Bromell Agency, Inc. to speak with an insurance consultant for more information on home insurance.