What to Do After a Fire, Flood, or Burglary: Documenting Your Losses

If this just happened to you, we're sorry — and the practical part of what comes next is documentation. Insurance claims, and disaster assistance applications where applicable, move faster and go more smoothly when you can show clearly what you had and what you lost.

Start with photos, before anything is moved or cleaned up

Where it's safe to do so, photograph the damage and affected items before any cleanup begins — insurers and adjusters generally want to see the scene as it actually was. If you've already had to move or discard something for safety reasons, that's understandable; document what you can from memory and any photos you already had of your home.

Work room by room

Going through your home systematically — room by room — produces a far more complete list than trying to remember everything at once, especially under stress. For each item, try to note:

• What it was and its approximate value
• Its condition before the loss
• Whether you have a receipt, photo, or other proof of ownership

If you had an inventory already, this is exactly why

If you'd documented your belongings before this happened, this step is mostly done. If not, that's genuinely common — most people don't have one until they need it. Either way, going forward, keeping this record up to date means you'll never be in this position again.

A free tool to organize it now

Contents Proof lets you document what you lost — room by room, with photos and values attached — and export it as a clean PDF for your insurer, or in a format aligned with FEMA disaster assistance guidance if that applies to your situation.