How do I determine an appropriate amount for personal contents coverage?

Personal contents coverage, typically part of your homeowners or renters insurance policy, helps protect your belongings like furniture, electronics, clothing, and other personal items. Determining the right amount of coverage is crucial to ensure you can replace your possessions after a covered loss.

Here’s a recommended approach:

1. Create a Home Inventory: Start by taking an inventory, going room by room. List your belongings and collect receipts for major items. Be sure to take photographs or video documentation as well. Tools like spreadsheets or dedicated home inventory apps can also help organize this information.
2. Estimate Value: Calculate the total estimated value of all your inventoried items. It's important to understand if your policy provides Replacement Cost Value (RCV) coverage (pays to replace items with new ones) or Actual Cash Value (ACV) coverage (pays current market value considering depreciation). Discuss this with your AAA agent to ensure you have the right coverage level based on your needs.
3. Review High-Value Items: For big-ticket items like jewelry, paintings, furs, collectibles, or high-end electronics, standard policies often have coverage limits. If the value of these items exceeds standard limits, you may need to add a scheduled personal property endorsement, which provides additional, specific coverage just for those items.
4. Review & Adjust Regularly: Update your home inventory and review your coverage amount annually, or after making significant new purchases, to ensure it remains adequate.

For personalized advice, to discuss scheduled endorsements, and to ensure your coverage amount accurately reflects your needs, please contact your local AAA branch.