Home Inventory Calculator
Build a room-by-room inventory that stays on your device, and see which categories blow past your policy's special limits before you need to claim.
How to use
- Add what you own room by room — the item, what it would cost to replace today, and roughly how old it is.
- Enter your policy's dwelling coverage and check the special limits against your declarations page (they vary by insurer, so edit them).
- Read the gaps: categories over their special limit, and whether your total exceeds your contents coverage. Then download the CSV and keep it somewhere outside the house.
How it works
Every insurer tells you to make a home inventory. Almost none of them give you a tool to do it, and the static checklists they hand out miss the thing that actually costs people money at claim time: a standard policy doesn't cover every category up to your contents limit.
Certain categories carry their own much smaller caps. If your contents limit is $150,000 but jewellery is capped near $1,500, then the $12,000 of rings and watches in your list are mostly uninsured — and you find out on the worst possible day. This calculator totals your inventory (Σ cost × quantity), compares each category against its limit, and compares the total against your contents coverage (dwelling × contents %), so both kinds of gap show up as a number now rather than a surprise later.
Your list is stored in your own browser and never uploaded. We can't see it, and neither can anyone else.
Sources
- Insurance Information Institute — How to create a home inventory
- Insurance Information Institute — Do I need special coverage for jewelry and other valuables?
- Insurance Information Institute — What is covered by a standard homeowners policy?
- NAIC — Home inventory consumer guidance
Data last verified: 2026-07-14
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a home inventory for insurance?
Go room by room and list what you'd have to replace, what it would cost to replace it today (not what you paid), and roughly how old it is. Photos and receipts help, but a written list with values is the part that actually determines whether a claim goes smoothly. This tool builds that list in your browser and totals it as you go.
How much detail does an inventory need?
Enough that a stranger could price the replacement. Individual entries for anything valuable — jewellery, electronics, tools, art. For low-value bulk items (kitchen utensils, clothing), a grouped line with a total is fine. The goal is a defensible number, not a museum catalogue.
What are special limits on a homeowners policy?
Standard policies cap what they'll pay for certain categories regardless of your overall contents limit. Jewellery and furs are commonly capped around $1,500 for theft; firearms and silverware around $2,500; cash around $200. So $12,000 of jewellery may be covered for about $1,500. These caps vary by insurer and state — check your declarations page and edit the figures in the tool to match.
How do I cover items that are over the limit?
You schedule them — also called adding a rider or floater. The item is listed individually, usually with an appraisal, and insured for its full value. It typically costs a small fraction of the value each year, which is the trade this calculator is meant to make visible.
Replacement cost or actual cash value — what's the difference?
Replacement cost pays what it takes to buy the item new today. Actual cash value pays the depreciated value, so a ten-year-old sofa pays out as a ten-year-old sofa. The ACV setting here uses straight-line depreciation over an assumed useful life, which is a simplification — real adjusters use category-specific schedules and often apply a floor.
Where should I keep my inventory?
Not only in the house it documents. This tool stores your list in your own browser and never uploads it, which means it's private — but it also means a lost device or cleared browser loses the list. Download the CSV and keep a copy in cloud storage or with someone you trust.
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Before you decide
This tool is an educational estimate, not insurance advice. Special limits, contents percentages and depreciation schedules vary by insurer, policy and state — your declarations page and policy language control. Confirm anything that matters with your agent.