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Take frequent inventory of what you own. When you get a new appliance, vehicle, or equipment, take note of the vin or serial number. Put it in a safe place at your location and at a separate location, such as in your safety deposit box or with a trusted relative. Also, have a photo inventory updated yearly or as needed.
We had tornadoes Monday night. Most of the farms on the first 1/2 mile of our road are destroyed. 11 homes in the county are completely gone and numerous barns, with several million in damage. Now we are in the midst of replacing things and with the serial numbers and vin, we can easily trace the makes, models, and such for the insurance adjusters.
This is of one of our buildings. I can't feed my cows by tractor now, but I was prepared for a few days of weather so bad the tractor could not get out, that I had 50 small bales of hay to throw. I have used about 1/2 of those now. Hopefully the company will be here tomorrow to lift the barn off the tractor so I can feed big bales again.
We had a list, and photos from last fall, that showed what we had and where it was. It was very simple to go through the list and see what was missing and damaged (or in a tree...). I had stuff I could print off and hand to the adjuster.
Excellent advice. I keep my very good jewelry in a safe deposit box, and only take it out when I am going to use it. I put it back as soon as possible. I also have important papers in the box. For $43 a year, it is worth it to me. I take photos of any other valuables in my home, and save all receipts.
Make a jewelry inventory photo album in order to identify your jewelry in case of loss or theft. In order to compile your photograph album of your jewelry, display your jewelry on black felt or in the original boxes, if you have them. 
Place the photographs in an album and store it with your documents your home office. In case of loss or theft of your jewelry, you can use your jewelry inventory album to assist you in finding jewelry items that were either lost or stolen.
I recently had my wedding ring repaired and I took a picture of it on my finger for inventory purposes.
This is an excellent idea but go one step further. Put your images on a flash drive and store a copy with a friend, relative or your attorney/bank. If there is a theft, photos will help.
If there is a fire or flood, they are gone too. I have a video inventory of my things for insurance and it's in 3 places besides my home. Thumb drives are 3.00 of r 2 gig so you can afford several. Of, send the zip file to your kids, friends, etc. and they can keep them in their files for you, should you need them. Free, easy and a great piece of mind.
PBP
Create an inventory list and do a room to room video log of all your belongings. Leave out nothing of importance to you. Add a written report of where purchased, value, etc. Some insurance companies require detailed lists of what you are replacing before they settle with you.
When contemplating your homeowners or renters insurance, consider this idea to speed things along. Use your digital camera and take pictures of all four walls in each room, close ups of opened drawers and closets, bathroom cabinets, garage contents opened tool boxes, etc.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I recently got renters insurance. I thought it would be smart for my agent to have photos of the things in my home and to give him a CD with the shots on it. I did that as a general "photo gallery" and then took several hours making a detailed list of the items.
However, I found that so many things were too small to show up in the larger shots. So, I began putting things that could fit on the scanner bed and took the shots that way. I even twirled all my rings to under the fingers and laid my hands on the scanner to get a good shot of them. By putting as many smaller things as you can on the scanner, you get a clean and clear shot of each one.
Once it was all done, my worldly possessions were all on one CD, and I made a copy for the agent, my daughter and my executor. If something like a break in, fire or flood happens, you will be in too much trauma to remember what you owned. This will help you recover things that someone takes and tries to pawn, are damaged beyond repair and can be replaced.
And lastly, if you can't replace it, you may have the only scan of that irreplaceable photo or document that you can at least print out for the sentimental value of.
No one wants to think that something horrible will happen, but the odds are 50/50 that it either will or won't happen. This will help you be prepared and feel a bit more in control.
I hope this helps. It sure has me.
Sandi/Poor But Proud and now Prepared!
By Sandi/Poor But Proud from Salem OR
You may want to check with your agent. We own our home, but our policy will not cover jewelry unless we have a rider. Valuable jewelry is considered the same as fine art, it must be appraised and insured separately. (06/06/2009)
By susan
You better get a different policy for just your jewelry. If you have it all together you want get the true value of it. I don't know why your insurance agent didn't tell you this. My friend learned the hard way. (06/06/2009)
By Teresa Tart
Wonderful! I wish everyone thought like you. I sell insurance and I agree please check your policy to make sure that all is covered, if not please cover it. You should have your home rerated at time of renewal to make sure that you will get the max amt. if something happens, and if you get anything new please don't forget to contact your agent. (06/30/2009)
By tawana
I uploaded mine to snapfish.com so that there will always be that digital copy, in case anything happens to the CD copy. (07/02/2009)
By Emily Pierce
Has this simple tip been shared before? Take your digital camera around the house and photograph everything you own. This is such an easy way to catalog your possessions for insurance purposes. I can't believe how quick this is and how nice it is to have a file saved in photos of my possessions. Once you have done this you can then proceed to place a value on each of your items and also catalog this by way of a Word document with photo of item inserted.
By karen from Davis, CA
Another good option is to video tape your entire house. Open all drawers, cabinets, closets, etc. you can describe any items while video taping. I work in insurance and people cannot remember all of their possessions in a time of crisis like a house fire. (03/27/2009)
By Sara
I'm in the process of doing this right now. Tornado season is coming, and with it, the necessity to make sure household inventory is current. (03/27/2009)
That is a very good idea. However, once you make the pictures, you need to store them somewhere outside your home. If your home burns, you want to be sure that the pictures don't get destroyed, also! (03/28/2009)
By Pat Giles
You can also make a list on the computer using Excel and the approximate value! (03/31/2009)
By Deb
One other thing, My friend learned the hard way. If you have jewelry, do a separate insurance policy on them so you will get full coverage in case someone breaks in your house. Some people have their insurance cover everything and that is bad. My friend's mom died and left all her jewelry to her, well a couple years ago someone broke into her house and took the jewelry along with other things. Her insurance man told her she should have had a separate policy for the jewelry to get full coverage for it. The amount you get back is never what you paid for everything as most of us know (06/02/2009)
By Teresa Tart
