Personal Property & Contents Claims

When your home is damaged, the building itself is only part of the story. Everything inside your home, your furniture, clothing, electronics, kitchenware, and personal belongings, falls under the “contents” or “personal property” portion of your insurance policy. Contents claims are often the most time-consuming and emotionally difficult part of the process, but they also represent a significant portion of your total recovery.

How Personal Property Claims Work

A homeowners policy typically provides a separate coverage limit for personal property, often set at a percentage of the dwelling coverage. The standard HO-3 default is 50%; some carriers default higher or allow the insured to elect more. After a covered loss, the insurer evaluates each item of damaged or destroyed personal property and determines a settlement amount based on policy terms — actual cash value or replacement cost value — and any applicable sublimits.

Coverage scope for personal property depends on the form. The HO-3 covers personal property only against the specifically listed perils (named perils) — fire, lightning, windstorm, hail, explosion, riot, aircraft, vehicles, smoke, vandalism, theft, falling objects, weight of ice/snow/sleet, accidental discharge of water, sudden and accidental tearing apart of a steam or water system, freezing of plumbing, sudden and accidental damage from artificially generated electrical current, and volcanic eruption. The HO-5 (comprehensive form) inverts that split and covers personal property on an open-perils basis, broader than the HO-3.

Cleaning, Total Loss, and Pack-Out

Not all contents damage is the same, and the claim process differs depending on the category:

• Cleanable contents: Items that can be professionally cleaned and restored to pre-loss condition. This includes many clothing items, hard goods, and furniture that sustained smoke or soot damage. The insurer pays for professional cleaning rather than replacement.
• Total loss contents: Items that are destroyed, damaged beyond repair, or cannot be adequately cleaned. These items are valued at either actual cash value or replacement cost, depending on your policy.
• Pack-out, storage, and return: When your home needs extensive repairs, a restoration company may pack out your contents, store them in a climate-controlled facility, clean or restore them, and return them when repairs are complete. This process is typically covered under your policy.

Preparing Your Inventory

The foundation of your contents claim is a detailed inventory of every damaged or destroyed item. For each item, you should document:

• A description of the item (brand, model, size, color)
• The room or area where it was located
• The age of the item or approximate date of purchase
• The original purchase price, if known
• The current replacement cost (what it would cost to buy the same or similar item today)
• The condition of the item before the loss

This is painstaking work. A typical household has hundreds or even thousands of individual items. Go room by room, closet by closet, drawer by drawer. Use old photographs, online purchase histories, credit card statements, and any other records you can find to support your inventory.

Inventory Professionals

Some insurance companies will hire an inventory service to help you document your contents. Better insurers cover this cost voluntarily, recognizing that professional inventory services produce more accurate results and reduce disputes. Other insurers leave the burden entirely on the policyholder. If your insurer does not offer inventory assistance, you can hire a professional inventory company yourself. A licensed Public Adjuster can also coordinate this process and ensure nothing is missed.

ACV vs. RCV on Contents

If you have a replacement cost value (RCV) policy, contents are paid in two stages. First, the insurer pays the actual cash value (ACV), which under California Insurance Code § 2051(b) is the replacement cost less a fair and reasonable deduction for physical depreciation based on the condition of the property at the time of loss. After you actually replace the item, you submit proof of purchase and the insurer pays the remaining “recoverable depreciation” or holdback. If you have an ACV-only policy, you receive only the depreciated value and nothing more.

Pay close attention to the depreciation applied to each item. Section 2051(b) requires the deduction to be based on the actual physical conditionof the item — not just its age. Insurers sometimes over-depreciate items or apply depreciation incorrectly. A five-year-old high-end appliance should not be depreciated the same way as a five-year-old t-shirt.

After a Declared Disaster — SB 495 Protections

California Senate Bill 495 (Stats. 2025, ch. 542) added two distinct protections for residential personal-property claims after a declared state of emergency. They live in different statutes and do different things:

• The contents advance — Cal. Ins. Code § 10103.7(b)(1).On a total loss during a state-declared emergency, the insurer must offer an advance payment of at least 60% of the personal property coverage limit, capped at $350,000, without requiring an itemized claim. This replaces the prior 30% / $250,000 floor.
• The 100-day proof-of-loss minimum — Cal. Ins. Code § 2051.5(b)(3)(A). For losses related to a state of emergency, the insurer cannot require the insured to provide proof of loss less than 100 days after the loss.

These two provisions are independent. The 60% advance is not gated by the 100-day rule, and the 100-day proof-of-loss minimum is not limited to total losses. SB 495's amendments took effect January 1, 2026; § 10103.7(c) requires policy forms to comply on and after July 1, 2026. Claims arising between 1/1/26 and 7/1/26 on policies not yet renewed under the new form may sit in a transition window. See the full discussion in the SB 495 contents rule article.

Tips for Maximizing Your Contents Claim

• Be thorough. The number one mistake policyholders make is forgetting items. Think about every room, every closet, every storage area, the garage, the attic, the pantry.
• Use “like kind and quality” replacement pricing. You are entitled to replace items with comparable quality, not the cheapest version available. If you had a solid wood dining table, the replacement is a solid wood dining table, not a particle board alternative.
• Do not round down. If you are unsure of the exact price, research it. Use online retailers to find current replacement costs for the same or similar items.
• Document matching sets. If one piece of a matching set is destroyed, you may be entitled to replace the entire set to maintain a match (e.g., a dining set, a bedroom set, or a set of pots and pans).
• Challenge unfair depreciation.If the insurer depreciates an item more than you believe is reasonable, push back with evidence of the item’s remaining useful life.

Contents claims take patience and attention to detail. The effort you put into your inventory directly translates to dollars recovered. If the process feels overwhelming, a licensed Public Adjuster can manage it for you and ensure you recover every dollar you are owed.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Insurance policies and applicable law vary by state and by policy form. Consult with a licensed professional regarding your specific situation.

Written by Leland Coontz III, Licensed Public Adjuster, CA License #2B53445.