TULSA, Okla — With recent wildfires triggering evacuations in Green Country, and last year's catastrophic tornadoes in Barnsdall still a vivid memory, Kathy Silva wants to be prepared if she ever needs to file an insurance claim.
Holding up his cell phone, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner, Glen Mulready said, “Everyone’s got one of these now," so the best thing that you can do immediately is to document."
Before disaster strikes simply walk through your house or apartment to make a picture and video inventory of what you have. Take videos of the entire room and photos of specific items that are expensive like furniture, TVs, gaming consoles, computers, jewelry, expensive clothing, sports gear and cameras. Don't forget to get shots of your major appliances and if you can, serial numbers to help document what you own.
Mulready emphasized, “Each room should really document exactly what is in your home in the event of a major loss.”
And don’t overlook the garage; the fridge or freezer out there or even lawn equipment can be expensive to replace.
Kathy Silva, surprised by how simple yet critical documentation can be if she ever needs to file an insurance claim, shared, "My parents are originally immigrants, so I wasn’t really taught much of this stuff growing up. It’s really neat to learn about this and take those precautions to ensure my stuff is covered.”
The next step: Store your photos and videos in the cloud or at least in a place away from your home because, if it burns to the ground or gets blown away by a tornado, that drawer with your pictures is likely gone too.
Mulready stated, “When your home is gone, or for the most part gone, if you don’t have that documentation stored in the cloud somewhere, it’s really difficult to think through exactly what you had.”
So now is the time to take half an hour or so to get the pictures and video you hope you’ll never need.
Kathy added, “I have a lot of expensive stuff like computers and cameras and video game consoles, so I think it’s pretty important.”
And when you get something new, remember to document it too.
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