Creating a video inventory in case of a disaster

Insurance experts started to recommend people make a video inventory after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

PEMCO Insurance says it'll make filing an insurance claim much less of a headache after a disaster.

" Imagine if you have just gone though a traumatic experience, " said Business and Channel Development manager at PEMCO, Allison Leep. "You've lost everything in your home and now you're expected to remember every single thing that you own. That's pretty daunting for some people and that's where a video comes in handy. "

To start your video inventory, download an app on your phone. There are plenty of choices to choose from.

You can also check with your insurance company, some may offer those apps for free. If apps aren't your style, you can just go the traditional way and use a video camera or the video feature on your phone.

Here are some tips to create a video inventory of your home:

PEMCO recommends staying in the same room until you're done recording all of it. It's also a good idea to store copies in at least two different places.

"At the minimum keep a copy at home and then put one on a USB drive and take it to work," said Leep. "Cloud storage is also a good idea, but keep in mind depending on the severity of the disaster, you might not have internet access right away."

If you don't like the idea of keeping files on the cloud, PEMCO says a lot of people make spreadsheets on the computer.

PEMCO also recommends updating your video inventory when you change the clocks. If you've made a major purchase in the past six months, that's the time to add it to your inventory.