Why a home inventory matters after a wildfire

After a fire, your insurance company will ask you to prove what you lost. A home inventory is that proof.

When you file a wildfire insurance claim, your insurer asks for a proof of loss — a detailed list of your damaged or destroyed belongings, with their approximate value. For most families, this is the single most overwhelming part of recovery: you're asked to remember and price hundreds or thousands of items, often from memory, while grieving the loss of your home. A complete, organized home inventory is what turns that impossible-feeling task into something you can actually finish, and it's often the difference between a claim that's paid in full and one that leaves money on the table.

The free home inventory builder on this page was made to walk you through it gently — room by room, at your own pace. You don't need an account, you don't pay anything, and nothing you enter is stored or sent to anyone. When you're done, you download your list and it's yours to keep and share with your insurer or attorney.

How to build your home inventory

Whether you use the tool above or a notebook, the approach is the same. Going room by room is the proven way to jog your memory — picturing yourself standing in each room and looking around tends to surface far more than trying to list everything at once.

• Go room by room. Start at your front door and move through the house the way you'd physically walk it — entryway, living room, kitchen, each bedroom, bathrooms, garage, and storage areas. The tool above does this for you automatically.
• Don't forget the easy-to-miss spaces. Closets, the garage, the attic, outdoor and patio areas, and storage boxes hold a surprising amount of value — tools, holiday decorations, luggage, sports equipment, and keepsakes add up fast.
• List the item, the quantity, and an estimated value. You don't need exact figures to start. A reasonable estimate is enough to build a working list; you and your insurer can refine values later.
• Capture the high-value items carefully. Jewelry, electronics, appliances, furniture, and collections often carry special limits in your policy, so it's worth listing them individually rather than lumping them together.
• Use any photos or videos you have. Old phone photos, videos, and even social media posts taken inside your home are powerful memory aids and can serve as documentation. Anything that shows your belongings before the fire helps.

What insurers look for in a proof of loss

A strong inventory generally includes, for each item, a short description, the quantity, the approximate age or purchase date if you remember it, and an estimated replacement cost. Replacement cost means what it would cost to buy the item new today — not what you originally paid for it years ago. The clearer and more complete your list, the easier it is for an adjuster to process, and the harder it is for a claim to be underpaid simply because something was left off.

Keep your inventory and any supporting photos in more than one place — emailed to yourself, saved to the cloud, or printed — so a lost phone or computer can't set you back. The tool above lets you download both a printable PDF and a spreadsheet (CSV) for exactly this reason.

Frequently asked questions