How to Value Items for a Home Insurance Claim
List each item with its replacement cost today, then subtract depreciation if your policy pays actual cash value instead of replacement cost.
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Replacement cost vs. cash value
Your policy pays one of two ways. Replacement cost gives you what a new item costs today. Actual cash value subtracts depreciation for age and wear. Your declarations page says which one you have, and it changes every number on your claim.
Proving what you owned
Receipts, photos, bank statements, even old photos showing the item in the background all help. Without proof, an adjuster may value an item low or question it entirely. Walk through each room and write down what was there before you start naming prices.
How depreciation gets calculated
Insurers apply an age and condition factor to each item. Often this uses software that assigns a useful life to furniture, electronics, and appliances. A five-year-old sofa won't be valued like a new one. Ask the adjuster to show the depreciation schedule used for each item.
Recoverable depreciation
If you have replacement cost coverage, you're usually paid actual cash value first. The withheld depreciation comes later, once you actually replace the item. Keep the receipt and send it in. Missing the deadline in your policy to claim that second payment can forfeit it.
What your policy actually pays
If you carry replacement cost coverage, the depreciation withheld on your first check is still yours to collect. Comparing policies now shows which ones pay full replacement value and which leave that money on the table.
Setting a value when there's no receipt
Not everything can be backed up with a receipt. A couch bought ten years ago in cash, a watch inherited from a parent, tools collected over decades. For these, adjusters look for the price of a comparable item sold today, same brand and quality if you can identify it, similar quality if you can't. Search listings for the same or similar model and save a few screenshots. That gives the adjuster a current price to depreciate from, which is better than a guess pulled from nowhere.
For anything with a serial number or model, write it down before you file. Electronics, appliances, tools, even mattresses often have a tag with this information. A model number lets the adjuster price the exact item instead of a category average, which usually works in your favor since exact matches hold value better than generic estimates.
Clothing, linens, and small household goods get handled differently than big-ticket items. Most adjusters won't price each shirt and towel individually. They apply a per-item or per-category average based on a general inventory, so your job is to list quantities and categories accurately rather than chase down every receipt. Ten men's dress shirts, three winter coats, that level of detail is usually enough.
For antiques, art, or collectibles, a standard adjuster often isn't qualified to set the value, and your policy may require an independent appraisal before any payout. Check your policy for a scheduled personal property endorsement or a stated value clause on these items. If one exists, that figure controls, not the adjuster's estimate. If nothing was scheduled ahead of time, ask whether the policy allows for an appraiser and who pays for that appraisal, since the cost sometimes falls on the homeowner first and gets reimbursed later.
What to do when the adjuster's number is too low
Most lowball valuations come from one of three places. The adjuster used a category average when your item had specific features that raised its value. The depreciation schedule assumed heavier wear than the item actually had. Or the comparable price they found was for a lower grade version of the item. Ask the adjuster directly which of these applies, and ask to see the actual comparable or schedule they used, not just the final number.
Once you have that documentation, you can challenge it with your own evidence. If the comparable they used is a generic version and yours was a higher trim or model, find listings for the specific model and submit those. If the depreciation seems too steep, check the item's actual condition against what the schedule assumes. A well maintained item sometimes warrants a request for a lower depreciation rate, and you can make that case in writing with photos showing its condition before the loss.
If the adjuster won't move, your policy likely has an appraisal clause built in for exactly this kind of disagreement. Each side hires its own appraiser, the two appraisers pick a neutral umpire, and the umpire's decision on the disputed value is binding. This costs money since you're paying your own appraiser, so it tends to make sense for higher value disputes rather than a twenty dollar difference on a lamp.
For smaller disagreements, a written appeal to the insurer often works before escalating. Lay out the specific items in dispute, attach your evidence for each, and ask for a written response. Insurers are required to respond to these in most states, and the request itself creates a paper trail that matters if the dispute goes further. If the appeal goes nowhere, your state's department of insurance takes complaints about claim handling, and a complaint filed there sometimes moves a stalled claim faster than anything else available to you.
Before you file anything else
Check your declarations page now for replacement cost versus actual cash value, and for any scheduled items. That one detail decides what every item on your list is actually worth.
