WHEN DO YOU NEED A PROFESSIONAL APPRAISAL?

1.

Do I have accurate documentation of all my personal property? The best record is a written inventory, but a thorough photographic record is a beginning.  

Yes

____

No

____

2.

Do I know the approximate value of my total household property, including clothing, recreational and sporting equiptment and litchen supplies, as well as my fine antiques, reproductions, art and decorative accessories?

Yes

____

No

____

3.

Have I discussed the coverage of my personal property with my insurance agent? Do I have the replacement value endorsement on my homeowner's policy?

Yes

____

No

____

4.

Are my collections (dolls, porcelain, coins, books, etc.) covered under my present insurance?

Yes

____

No

____

5.

Are my jewelry and furs appraised and listed on my insurance policy?

Yes

____

No

____

6.

Do I own individual pieces, antique or new, which have a value of more than $1,000 each? (Could you prove their value were anything to happen to them?)

Yes

____

No

____

7.

Do I live in an area where household robberies frequently occur?

Yes

____

No

____

8.

Is my house left empty or untended on a regular daily basis or on frequent week-ends? Are most of the homes in my neighborhood left untended?

Yes

____

No

____

9.

Do I want to plan the division of my personal property and antiques for my heirs based on even monetary division?

Yes

____

No

____

10.

Truthfully, how would I react were I to lose my personal property and antiques to any cause ... natural disaster, fire, or theft? Would I be emotionally and financially devastated?

Yes

____

No

____

If you answered "no" to the first five questions, and "yes" to the latter five, you should ask yourself whether or not you are willing to spend the time to make your own thorough and documented inventory. If your answer is an immediate and emphatic "no" to this question, but you answered "yes, I would be emotionally and financially devastated were I to lose my personal property and antiques," the time has come to seriously consider having  a professionally prepared appraisal made of your property.