How to make a home contents inventory for insurance

The advantages of a home contents inventory

There are many good reasons to create a comprehensive, up-to-date inventory of the valuable items in your home:

• It can help provide peace of mind after a very stressful event.
• You may be able to file a claim faster and more efficiently, removing the need to try and remember all the major items that were lost and their value.
• It can help you avoid being underinsured, which is when the insured value of your home and contents is less than the rebuild or replacement cost of your property or items.
• It helps you substantiate the value of your items to your insurer, which may assist when making a contents insurance claim.

It’s also worth noting that contents insurance isn’t just for owner-occupiers of a home. Renters should be adequately insured to help protect their possessions, as should landlords, small business owners and holiday house owners.

More: What does underinsurance mean? How to know if you’re underinsured

Keeping your home inventory up-to-date can help ensure you're not underinsured.

Golden rules when making a home inventory for insurance

1. Photograph your receipts and record key details

Whenever you make a purchase, always save the receipt until you have photographed it and copied down the details in your home inventory.

Ideally, make note of the item’s make and model, serial number (if applicable), purchase location, date of purchase and purchase price (see our section below). Along with a photograph of your new possession, these details can make for an easier claims process.

You likely won’t have receipts for everything you already own. For those items, list all the key details of the product and provide a brief description with the photograph.

2. Go room-by-room or group-by-group

You might be surprised by how much ‘stuff’ you own when making a home inventory. To avoid becoming overwhelmed or forgetting anything, decide how you will compile the list.

Will you go room-by-room (bedroom, study, living room, garage...) or group-by-group (furniture, clothes, books, artwork…)? Or, if you are moving or spring cleaning soon, you could record your home inventory as you pack or clean.

To help make a list of everything, see our separate article on common household items that people forget to insure.

More: How much is your wardrobe worth?

3. Keep your information safe and up-to-date

It may be best to digitise your home inventory. After all, the same unexpected event that destroys your belongings may also destroy your meticulous home inventory in the filing cabinet.

Instead, consider creating an online spreadsheet or using a smartphone app so that you can access your records digitally. When keeping digital records, research the app or website first. Make sure to go through the privacy settings, keep your information private, and don’t list your home address anywhere on your home inventory.

Try to update your home inventory every year – at tax time is popular, since you will already be going through receipts. Remove sold, donated or thrown-out items from your inventory, and add any new items you’ve accrued since your last update.

4. Avoid underinsurance and update your insurance policy

Underinsurance could result in your home insurance or contents insurance claim not providing adequate cover for your loss. 

You may not realise just how much your home contents are worth until you create a complete home inventory. Your possessions have likely been collected over years and may add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

If your contents are covered under a ‘new for old’ policy if they are stolen or damaged, the insurer will replace an item with a new one, so it is important to consider the replacement value rather than simply what it originally cost to purchase. This is especially relevant when items are several years old. If the item has been passed down, or was purchased cheaply second-hand at an op shop, for example, the cost to replace with a new item should also be factored in.

Once you’ve gone through the process of recording all the valuable items in your home, the total amount may be a lot more than you anticipated. You can also estimate the approximate cost to replace your home contents with our Home Contents Sum Insured Calculator^*.

To avoid underinsurance, keep your home inventory and insurance up-to-date. Check your policy’s Product Disclosure Statement for any coverage limits of specific items (such as watches and jewellery) on your home or contents insurance policy, and chat to your insurer if you need a higher coverage limit.

More: Insurance for jewellery – How to cover engagement and wedding rings, watches and heirlooms

Home contents inventory template

You can find many different types of inventory lists online to use as a template, but a good start is to list key details about your policy (name, insurer, policy number, contact details) and then create a table or spreadsheet under the following headlines:

• Location: lounge room, kitchen, laundry, bathroom, main bedroom, hallway, etc
• Item description: lounge suite, microwave, cosmetics, queen size bed, etc
• Make/model
• Serial number
• Date purchased
• Purchase location: online or in-store, including where seller/store is based
• Purchase price
• Warranty
• Condition: excellent/good/average
• Estimated value
• Photograph: yes/no, include thumbnail image
• Notes

^{The information provided is general advice only. Before making any decisions please consider your own circumstances and the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determinations. For copies. visit racv.com.au. As distributor, RACV Insurance Services Pty Ltd AFS Licence No. 230039 receives commission for each policy sold or renewed. Product(s) issued by Insurance Manufacturers of Australia Pty Ltd ABN 93 004 208 084 AFS Licence No. 227678.} 

^{*Contents Calculator: Typical home contents replacement costs are provided by Sum Insured. Whilst all reasonable care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information as a guide for costing building contents replacement costs, no responsibility is accepted by Sum Insured for its accuracy. Please check with a Valuer or other suitably qualified professional for an accurate costing estimate. Insurance Australia Limited (A.B.N. 11 000 016 722) takes no responsibility for the costs provided by Sum Insured nor any liability for the accuracy of or reliance upon or use of, the costs. This service is licensed to Insurance Australia Limited (A.B. N 11 000 016 722) for use by its customers. :copyright: 2003 - 2025 Sum Insured is a trading name of Land Services SA Operating Pty Ltd (ACN 618 229 815) as trustee for Land Services SA Operating Trust (ABN 86 836 650 939). The building contents replacement cost calculator is registered under Australian Patent Number 2010202987.}