If your home was burglarized or destroyed by a fire or flood, would you be able to make a complete list of your missing valuables? Most people couldn’t.
Intruders break into more than 6 million homes in this country every year — an average of one every 10 seconds — in a search for cash, small electronics, jewelry, guns, bicycles and other valuables they can carry away.
Homeowner’s or renter’s insurance can cover those losses — but not without proof. That’s why both law enforcement agencies and insurance agencies want people to document their possessions.
Some police departments, including Boulder’s, still offer residential security surveys, with a community service officer assessing your home for vulnerabilities. Even then, burglaries can happen.
“It astounds me how many burglaries happen because doors aren’t locked,” says Daniel Bergh, a community-service officer with the Boulder Police Department.
“Burglars try a door handle, and the door isn’t locked, and they come in even if the homeowner’s present. Usually — but not always — they’ll make a hasty retreat or a half-baked excuse in that case. But if your front door is locked and your garage door is open, then a burglar is going to take the path of least resistance.”
If you suspect your home has been robbed, the first rule is to leave immediately and call 911.
“Assume the burglar is still there,” said Denver Police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
“Don’t touch anything, and get out. We look for latent fingerprints,” he said. “When the police come, they’ll want to know what is missing, and they need serial numbers and pictures, things like that. Unfortunately, during a traumatic time, it’s hard trying to remember what you have, and having an inventory of your valuables is key.”
Besides serving as a back-up in case of burglary or another disaster, a home inventory can be invaluable in other situations. It can supplement wills, trusts and other legal documents, and it expedites the probate process in the event of a death. It’s also helpful for loan applications and in determining your net worth.
But in the event of a burglary, a home inventory can mean the difference between recovering your stolen possessions (or being reimbursed for them) and getting next to nothing.
“It’s been my experience that most people do not have the serial numbers, make or model of their valuables, which makes it harder for us to recover their property and find the thieves,” Bergh said.
“With serial numbers, we can enter stolen items into the crime database, and every law enforcement agency will know that item is stolen.”
Law-enforcement officers who investigate burglary cases become scrupulous about maintaining their own home inventories. Todd Bliss, an investigator with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, updates his home inventory once a year.
“I used to do it on paper, but now we have digital inventories,” Bliss said.
“Normally, we use a spreadsheet, and I’ll concentrate on items that have serial numbers — electronics, laptops, bicycles, firearms, anything with a serial number. Then when those serial numbers go into the database, if those items are pawned or found in other law jurisdictions, we can get them back. And it gives us a lead to work.”
Claire Martin: 303-954-1477, cmartin@denverpost.com or twitter.com/byclairemartin
Don’t lose it but if you do, have proof
Evaluate your home as if you were a burglar. Remove shrubbery or other hiding places near your front and back doors. Install motion-detector lights. Security-system stickers make your home less appealing to a robber. So do a couple of dogs.
Keep your doors closed and locked, including the garage door. Most opportunistic burglaries take place in open garages, police say.
Store valuables, such Social Security numbers, expensive jewelry, emergency cash, stock certificates, in a home safe. Keep that locked, as well.
Register your bicycle’s serial number and model with the local police department. Some police departments will register laptop computers, as well.
If you find evidence that someone has broken into your home, go to a neighbor’s house or another safe place and call 911.
If you’re already inside when you discover there’s been an intrusion, don’t touch anything. Call 911. —Claire Martin, The Denver Post
How to compile a home inventory
Compiling a home inventory can take one to six or more hours, depending on your circumstances.
If you’re robbed, a detailed inventory means you’ll have a better chance of being reimbursed by your insurance company. (Note that the insurance agent will expect each loss you claim to be on the police report, so you’ll need to get a copy of that as well.)
A college student with a laptop, a bicycle, a smartphone and a few other valuables won’t need as much time as parents. People with kids need to account for their possessions, plus their children’s electronics, bicycles and other items.
For big jobs, take a room-by-room approach. Photograph each room and then take a close-up of each valuable.
Using an app like EnCircle or Home Gallery will help immensely. They provide specific prompts for serial and model numbers, cost and other information.
You can go old-school, with a camera and scanner, or even older-school, with a pen and paper AND a camera and scanner. But in this case, going digital is better than stashing a physical copy of your inventory that may or may not be accessible when you need it. In the case of fire or flood, it might not even exist.
Some companies offer services like Apple’s My Support Profile, which lists the serial numbers associated with your Apple ID.
Here’s what you need to record information about electronics and other valuables (including cash, handguns, paintings, jewelry, bicycles and other sports gear):
• A description (including an image of the bar code, if possible)
• The model name
• Serial number
• Cost
• Purchase date
• Manufacturer
• Photos and/or video footage
• Estimated or appraised replacement value
You’ll also want to record receipts and important documents, including birth certificates, will, life-insurance policies, stock certificates and Social Security certificates, mortgage information, passport and bank and insurance account numbers.
Home Gallery and EnCircle can store this information on your phone, but you should also export the inventory to another device as a spreadsheet or .pdf file, or to the cloud. — Claire Martin
