Whereas an insurance salesperson cheerfully and gladly will sell you a policy to protect your home and its contents, after a loss the adjuster often will demand that you produce a receipt for every single item you claim to have lost.

With homeowners' insurance, the company suggests that you insure the contents of your home for an amount equal to 15 percent of your home's value. In our experience, that formula is appropriate only rarely. Wouldn't the insurance company be more honorable by asking for a list of the home contents up front? If they did so, the exact value of the contents would be determined before the premium was paid. Instead, the insurance company uses an average value as a means to sell you a policy and then uses the adjuster to reduce their costs at the time of the claim.

You probably know the make and screen size of your television set, but chances are you don't know the model or serial numbers. And, if you are like most Americans, you probably don't have the receipt to prove that you purchased it either. These are the questions that your insurance adjuster will ask about each item you claim as lost. Be it fire, theft or natural disaster, the question always occurs after the fact. How do you get the model number off the back of a stolen television set? You don't. So how do you get full value for your loss?

There is a way, a home inventory. And with the advent of video cameras and computers, the home inventory is easier than ever to create, and it shouldn't take more than a weekend or two of your time. You probably will discover that you need to modify the amount of your personal property insurance coverage to align with the true value of your home's contents. Once you have provided your insurance company with a priced list of your property, the questions the adjuster normally would ask already are answered.

And remember, the insurance company isn't the only organization that you will have to deal with after a loss. There are tax deductions to consider that could be substantiated if an accurate inventory exits.

First, make a location list that defines each area of your house and yard, room by room, area by area.

Each individual listing should include quantity, item Description, purchase price and replacement value. For example: Dining Room, eight five-piece place settings, XYZ brand bone china, yellow rose pattern, $640, $850. Once the list is complete, items such as fine china and crystal, furs, jewelry, art, antiques and other collectibles should be appraised. At each room or location, list the large items first. In the dining room, for example: first list the table, the chairs, then any freestanding or built-in cabinets. Once larger items have been listed, decorations should be catalogued. Finally, the contents within each cabinet should be indexed, one drawer or section at a time. And, don't leave the room until absolutely everything has been listed right down to the smallest item.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Use a video camera to get overall views of the room and then individual views of each major item. With some video cameras you can zoom right in on the serial number plate of an appliance or electronic device capturing brand and model numbers. Together with your verbal description of what is being taped, the video image leaves no question about what you own. The process is faster when you have a couple of muscular assistants moving large items in and out of place to facilitate rear and side views. By the way, if you are able to get help, do all the large pieces in the home first. Then go back to each room and do the small stuff later, when your help is no longer available.

Don't forget the garage, storage shed, patio, attic, subarea and basement. You may find more in these locations than the other spaces combined.

If you have a computer, you can list your property in a home inventory program or you can make your own inventory program using a spread sheet or database manager. Computerized lists are especially easy to update as new purchases are made. Each time a major update is made, the revised inventory list should be forwarded to your insurance carrier for review. Also, when it comes to important files like inventory lists, make sure to store a backup of the program and data in a safety deposit box or in a fire and heat-proof safe.