Dusyk & Barlow Insurance Brokers has spent years helping Regina homeowners protect what matters most. With two locations in the city, we work closely with families and individuals to make sure their home and contents coverage reflects their real needs. One of the most consistent gaps we see, year after year, is the absence of a proper home inventory. It is one of the simplest things you can do to protect yourself, and one of the most overlooked.

Imagine coming home to find your house has been broken into, or waking up to a fire, a flood, or storm damage. In the aftermath, while you are already stressed and shaken, your insurance company will need to know exactly what you lost. Every item. Every appliance. Every piece of furniture, jewelry, electronics, sporting equipment, and clothing. The more detail you can provide, the smoother and faster your claim will be processed.

Now imagine trying to recall all of that from memory.

Most people cannot do it. Not accurately, and not completely. And when claims are underdocumented, settlements can be lower than expected, leaving homeowners to cover the gap themselves.

A home inventory is exactly what it sounds like: a recorded list of your belongings, ideally with descriptions, approximate values, serial numbers where applicable, and photos or video to back it up. It does not need to be complicated, but it does need to exist before something happens, not after.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when putting yours together:

Go room by room rather than trying to tackle the whole house at once. Start in the areas with the highest-value items, typically the kitchen, living room, and any space where electronics or jewelry are stored.

Do not forget the things you walk past every day without noticing. Clothing, linens, books, tools in the garage, sporting equipment, items in storage. These add up quickly and are easy to overlook in the rush of filing a claim.

Keep your inventory somewhere other than your home. A digital copy stored in the cloud, on a USB drive kept at a relative’s house, or even emailed to yourself, gives you access to the document even if your home and its contents are destroyed or inaccessible.

Update your inventory when you make significant purchases. A new appliance, a piece of furniture, a musical instrument or a bicycle all deserve a place on the list.

To make this easier for you, Dusyk & Barlow has put together a free printable home inventory form you can use to get started. You can download it directly from our website here!

Print it off, work through it at your own pace, and keep it somewhere safe. It is one of the most practical things you can do to protect your household, and it costs nothing but a bit of your time.

If you have questions about your home insurance coverage or want to make sure your policy limits actually reflect the value of your contents, we encourage you to reach out to our team. That is exactly what we are here for.