After a fire, flood, or other disaster, one strong desire drives you: to get rid of everything as fast as possible. Burned furniture, wet carpets, and soot-covered belongings are constant reminders of the stress and property loss you’ve endured. It’s natural to want to throw it all away. However, the moment you pick up a trash bag or call a cleaning service, you can cause irreparable damage to your claim.
As licensed public insurance adjusters, we sometimes witness situations where hastily discarding completely damaged (so-called “total loss”) items leads to a denial of insurance compensation for them.
Why does this happen? It’s simple: key evidence is removed too soon, before it has been inspected and documented. This mistake could end up costing you thousands of dollars.
So how should you handle your personal property to avoid this trap? I go over it in the article below.
Why You Should Never Throw Away Damaged Items Too Soon
A contents claim is a legal process that requires documented evidence. Your insurance adjuster has the right to verify each lost item before approving payment.
When you file a claim, a claims professional from your insurance company will visit you. Their job is to personally confirm that the item existed and was indeed damaged. There’s also a hidden goal — to reduce the payout.
By throwing away a fire-damaged TV or a water-soaked couch, you are destroying the most important proof of ownership and loss with your own hands.
Without this evidence, your claims examiner at the insurance company will classify the loss as “Unsubstantiated.” The result? Either a denial of payment or a significantly reduced settlement.
Remember! Even if an item seems completely destroyed and unsalvageable (a “contents total loss”), it still remains part of your evidence.
Step-by-Step: How to Protect Your Personal Property Claim
As home and business public adjusters, our job is to ensure your documentation meets (and often exceeds) the insurance company’s standards. Success in a contents claim comes from measured, consistent actions.
Step 1. Don’t move or throw anything
Unless there’s an immediate safety hazard, don’t touch anything until after inspection or until you have written permission from the insurance company or your independent public adjuster.
Step 2. Photograph and video EVERYTHING
Take wide shots of rooms to show the overall context of damage, and detailed photos of each damaged item. Be sure to capture the brand, model, and the specific nature of the damage — whether it’s storm, water, or fire damage.
Feeling stuck with your claim? You don’t have to fight alone.
Reach out to us — we will review your claim for free and help you understand your options
Step 3. Create a business/home contents inventory
This is the most time-consuming but most important part. Your list should include:
- item name;
- brand/model;
- approximate age;
- approximate replacement value;
- current condition (e.g., “total loss”).
Step 4. Safely store damaged items
We recommend dividing items into two groups:
- Salvageable (items that can be cleaned or restored).
- Non-salvageable (completely lost).
If you need to move them to prevent further damage (for example, after a burst pipe under slab), place them in boxes and label them with their location and the cause of damage.
Step 5. Consider a contents cleaning allowance
Some policies allow for a contents cleaning allowance instead of a costly pack-out by the insurance company’s contractor. If we at On-Site Adjusting are assisting you, we always explore this option.
Overall, creating a total loss inventory is exhausting. Think about old receipts, credit card statements, or even gifts — anything that can prove ownership of the item.
Common Mistakes That Lead to Denied Claims
Often, our adjuster services start with correcting mistakes clients made before contacting us.
| Mistake That Risks the Claim | What Actually Happens | The Role of adjusters from On-Site Adjusting |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Throwing out damaged property before it’s documented | The insurance company has no proof the item existed and classifies it as “Unsubstantiated. | We use indirect evidence (room photos, testimony, receipts) to reconstruct a total loss inventory. |
| 2. Not keeping receipts or inventory lists | The client forgets 50% of lost items (clothes, kitchenware) and receives an underpayment. | We perform a detailed review and create a professional, complete personal property restoration list with real values. |
| 3. Assuming “total loss” items don’t require documentation | Just because an item is burned or has total water damage doesn’t mean the insurance company will automatically pay for it. You still need proof of ownership. | We explain that even a burned item must be photographed in its original location and then included in the total loss inventory. |
| 4. Relying solely on vendor or mitigation reports | Emergency cleanup companies focus on the work (drying, cleaning) rather than a full valuation of your property. The insurance company might use this incomplete report to reduce your contents payout. | We personally gather independent evidence and provide our own valuation, without relying on third-party reports that may be incomplete. |
Encountered one of these mistakes? Don’t lose hope. We specialize in restoring and correcting residential and commercial claims related to total loss.
What Insurers Expect to See in a Personal Property Claim
To receive a full and fair payout, you need to meet three main requirements set by the insurance company. Its representative (or we, acting as your claims loss adjuster) will be looking for the following:
- Proof of ownership. This can include old receipts, warranty cards, bank or credit card statements, or even photos showing you using the item (if receipts are unavailable).
- Proof of damage. High-quality photos and videos taken before any cleanup begins, as we explained earlier.
- Proof of loss. A professionally prepared inventory list with replacement value estimates.
Insurance companies may request these documents and records (digital or paper) even months after the event. Your responsibility is to keep absolutely all documents.
How a Public Adjuster Helps Protect Your Contents Claim
Facing the list of requirements above, you are already stressed after the incident. And the insurance company adjuster has very little interest in making the legal process any easier.
This is exactly why clients hire us. Our team is one, but we perform many functions:
- We manage the process of creating a total loss inventory according to the standards required by the insurer.
- We identify and value all lost contents using current replacement costs, not undervalued amounts.
- We act as a professional negotiator, handling all communication with the insurance adjuster.
- We ensure that all your documentation contains the necessary proof of damage and proof of ownership.
Over the past 15+ years, we have successfully closed thousands of large loss insurance claims in California, Wisconsin, and Illinois. During that time, we’ve consistently shown that well-documented evidence and a professionally prepared contents claim can boost the payout by 2–3 times.
Let us help you build an evidence base that cannot be denied or undervalued!
Final Thoughts
Cleanup may seem like the right step, but if it’s done too early, it can harm your insurance claim.
Remember our simple rule: document first, then dispose. Or delegate the entire process to our public insurance adjusters. We’re here to take on the burden of dealing with the insurance company and ensure you receive fair compensation.
Want to make sure you’re doing everything right? Need expert help documenting your losses? Call the On-Site Adjusting team at (866) 861-4992 or (866) 933-0404, or fill out our contact form.
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