Why it's important to know what your personal property is worth

How much would it cost you to replace everything you have in your home?

If you were to sit down and calculate the dollar figure, you might be surprised at how large the total might be. It's likely the replacement cost would top how much you make in a year. Property insurance may be the answer to helping you replace your belongings if disaster strikes.

But how do you know how much coverage you need? Apartmenthunters.com has a replacement value list that could help you determine the amount of property coverage you may need. Some items to think putting a price tag on for replacement include your clothing, linens, electronic items, kitchen dishes and utensils and furniture.

When you celebrate milestones in your life - starting a family, moving to a new house, sending children off to college, downsizing into a retirement house, etc. - you may discover that your property, and its value, changes as well. These milestones may be a good time to review your personal property insurance coverage to determine if your policy most accurately matches the value of your possessions.

If you are considering personal property insurance coverage, here's a bit of background information to help get you started:

* Actual cash value coverage - Your personal property is typically covered for what you might expect to get if you sold it at fair market value - possibly at a garage sale, online auction site or other sales event - as replacement cost minus depreciation.

* Replacement cost coverage - With replacement cost coverage, your insured personal property items are usually covered for what it costs to buy them again at the time of the claim as new, although premiums for this type of insurance are typically higher than the actual cash value insurance coverage option.

* Document and record your property - Keeping a tallied inventory of your property - with photographs and receipts if possible - in a secure location separate from your property can help you determine and maintain the value of your items if you need to make personal property claims.

Having property coverage might be a good way for you to ease the worry of an unexpected occurrence - like a fire, flood or tornado - forcing you to replace all of your belongings all at once. While you might not have your possessions any longer if such an occurrence were to happen, you could replace them with less concern about affording such an expense.