Controlling the loss to personal property is as important as any other aspect of any loss. Too frequently, adjusters devote an inordinate amount of effort to controlling the building loss, while delegating the contents loss to the insured. Here are some ways to gain control of the contents loss to avoid unnecessary disputes and bring the adjustment to a rapid conclusion.

Reaching an early agreement on the scope of the contents loss is the key to a prompt adjustment. Insurers take varying approaches to scoping contents. Some will ask the insured to prepare a list. Some use contents claim vendors or replacement services. Most expect the adjuster to assist the insured in preparing the inventory. In the process, the adjuster addresses key issues before they turn into a dispute.

In addition to determining an accurate value of the contents loss, the intent of the contents scope is to identify and resolve the insured's questions and doubts early in the adjustment process, rather than waiting to second-guess the insured's inventory later in the adjustment.

As you begin your contents scope, you may want to classify each category of property in a room as undamaged, clearly repairable or cleanable, possibly repairable or cleanable and total loss items. Then, you can obtain agreement with the insured on a course of action for each category.

For total loss items, complete a joint inventory of items valued above a specific dollar threshold. The purpose of the threshold is to agree to all large items in advance. The amount of the threshold depends on the quality of the property. In most cases, an adjuster may want to specifically list any item over $100 during the initial inspection. The threshold should be low enough to establish a solid initial estimate of the contents loss.

Record the items room by room, grouped by the location of the items in the room. Make sure your scope contains enough information to obtain accurate replacement costs and determine reasonable depreciation.

Here is a guide that adjusters may want to follow for completing the contents scope.   Identify appliances, TVs, stereos, cameras, and like items by manufacturer, model number and serial number. Obtain place and date of purchase from the insured.

 

On furniture, indicate the style, size, manufacturer, date and place of purchase.

 

Identify major clothing such as suits, dresses, and coats by the number of items, manufacturer, date and place of purchase. Make sure the dollar threshold you are using will identify unusually expensive goods.

 

Establish a way of quantifying every class of item. "Drawer half full of socks" is probably enough to control the scope on low value items. If necessary, ask the insured to inventory these types of items in detail.

When you are scoping out-of-sight items, that is, those lost or damaged beyond recognition, carefully inspect the debris to identify evidence of major items mentioned by the insured. If you find the serial number plate for one of the first items, the insured will be less likely to aggrandize the description of other items. Zippers and metal fasteners can be found near wire hangers to verify clothing items.

Identify any unusual or high value items that may require an expert to determine a fair valuation. The debris may be useful to an expert in establishing the value of collectibles, crystal, china, antiques, artwork, firearms, jewelry, watches, furs, silverware or anything else where coverage isn't limited for loss by fire. Once the debris is gone, it is often impossible to verify loss to these types of items.

Test clean as you scope the loss. Make a separate list of items to be cleaned. Leave a copy with the insured to provide to his or her choice of restoration contractor.

Most cleaners can handle lightly smoked clothing if they are told what the problem is.  They may charge a little more because the smoke can contaminate their chemicals. 

 

There are true professionals in the residential contents restoration field.  But watch for those who want to take everything off premises for cleaning. Hauling and cleaning total loss items adds unnecessary costs.  Try reaching agreement with the cleaning services on a labor and materials basis. Make sure the labor rate is appropriate. You do not need to pay construction laborer rates for cleaning contents. Be wary of unit cost pricing. A small amount per item sounds cheap when quoted but can astound you when the bill comes in.

 

Other approaches to controlling cleaning costs are to solicit multiple bids yourself or ask the insured's choice of general contractor to bid on it.

Salvage recovery on common residential property is difficult.  Used residential contents bring garage sale prices in an undamaged condition. When they are damaged, the value is significantly less.  Consider adjusting damaged items with remaining value based on an appearance allowance before totaling the item and seeking a salvage credit. As an example, the insured may have an old but still-functional television worth fifty dollars.  There may be some minor charring to the back of the television's wood cabinet, that would cost one hundred dollars to repair.  Rather than settle the television loss for its fifty dollar value and attempt to sell it for salvage, an adjuster may consider an agreed monetary compensation to the insured which would allow them to keep and continue to use the television. 

 

Adjusters may also consider leaving marginal items with the insured and applying an appropriate salvage credit to the loss amount.