FLORIDA INVENTORY SERVICES - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A: A home inventory is a listing of all the possessions within your home. A Florida Inventory Services inventory is accomplished by an impartial third party. The inventory provided is an objective listing of what you tell us to list. We cover everything in your home to include furniture, furnishings, wall coverings, linens, clothing, jewelry, electronics, sport’s equipment. We will even inventory your garage or work area for tools, spare parts for whatever, and items waiting to be installed. For a few more dollars we will accompany you to an off site rental storage unit and inventory those items also. Don’t put contacting us off another day.

A: Your house does not have to be in perfect order. The most important thing is that you can see the items. We’re flexible and will work with you to record the maximum amount of detail for the personal property in your home.

A: If and when a catastrophe occurs, documentation is the key factor in determining compensation from an insurance claim. Property claims are handled based on “assumptions” and “standards”. While your insurance company may “assume” you have a color TV in your family room, they may also “assume” it is a “standard” 27” worth around $400. The reality is you may own a 42” plasma screen TV valued at over $6500. Our inventory can also help you evaluate whether you are properly insured.

A: Yes. There is nothing stopping you from doing your own inventory. As you may know, insurance companies recommend that you have a home or business inventory. However, many owner intentions never follow through until it's too late. They procrastinate or just do not know where to begin and what to include. Florida Inventory Services so this professionally and have the methods and documentation process that ensures that your home and business inventory is done effectively and correctly. Another important note is insurance companies like third parties to do the inventory for credibility purposes.

Although many sites advertise their secure storage of your information, we do not store our information online. There are people out there who can hack into any program. Although these companies do all they can to prevent their site being compromised, we do not feel these are the most secure way to keep your information confidential. We have also found that many people do not feel secure storing their information online. We recommend clients to store their report in a secure off-site location or safety deposit box.

A: No, we do not release any information to anyone but you and just the opposite may be true. Knowing exactly what you own can lower your insurance bill. Insurance companies try hard to help you recover. The communication disconnect happens is when you cannot provide a detailed inventory by a third party. Here the company will pay the basic schedule for an item rather than “like quality”. I’m sure you know someone that may have lost an item due to burglary, a fire or storm and received $200-400.00 for a piece of electronic gear. They could not prove to their carrier that what they owned was much greater quality. If this happens you loose money without an inventory. Don’t suffer a loss because you did not contact us.

A: You are the only one who can answer that question. Does what you have worked so hard to provide for your lifestyle have any value to you? As a general rule insurance companies insure the contents of your home for 80% of the value of the house. They know that you have many valuable items that you use everyday. I know in my household we probably spent two years college tuition in LEGO’s. We have had clients that have more invested in clothing than in their automobile. Another person had very unique custom fabric wall coverings.

A: A home inventory for a 2,000 sq. ft. home with an average amount of furnishings takes approximately 2 to 4 hours to document its general contents. If you have a larger home, business or special collections, the amount of time spent performing the in-home or in business portion of the services can vary depending upon what specific items the homeowner or business wants documented. We only inventory when you are present for liability reasons but also to get more detailed information that may impact the item's sentimental or actual value. A few hours of your time could ultimately save you thousands.

A: Furnishings, appliances, electronics, and any endorsed , appraised, or custom made possessions. During the initial consultation, a Florida Inventory Services representative will ask the necessary questions to help you determine what items should be documented in your home or business.

A: No, we are not professional appraisers or insurance experts. Our inventories are obtained from receipts, independent appraisals, photos, descriptions and values that the client gives us. If you would like something appraised, we recommend doing it before the home inventory is done, but it is not required.

A: All of our Inventory Specialists have been properly screened and trained. We identify you and your home or business with a unique and secure number ensuring privacy and security should your CD be lost or stolen. Customer account information is encrypted and stored on a password secured Server that is not connected to the Internet. Although many sites advertise their secure storage of your information, there are people out there who can hack into any program. Although these companies do all they can to prevent their site being compromised, we do not feel these are the most secure way to keep your information confidential. Along with your information being stored on a password secured Server, we also maintain an off-premise back-up of this data. We guarantee that we will not sell or otherwise provide your information to any third parties.

A: Upon completion of the initial home or business inventory evaluation, you should receive your package complete with documentation and CD within 3 weeks. We strive to keep our turn around time to a minimum. Your inventory specialist will tell you exactly when she/he will deliver it to you.

A: Florida Inventory Services will deliver the final documentation in person or discreetly packaged via USPS Priority Mail with delivery confirmation.

A: With your signed authorization, we will release your certified inventory records to the appropriate agencies. If you have safely maintained your back-up copy you can forward the package to the appropriate authorities for expedited processing of your claim.

We are located in South West Florida. We will do inventories located outside of the Naples-Fort Myers-Cape Coral area, but any location more than 50 miles away from Fort Myers may incur additional charges.

A: Please refer to our Pricing page, but typically an inventory runs between $250 and $600. You inventory specialist will give you a free written estimate when you contact us.

A: Please fill out the information form on the "Contact Us" page.