Public adjuster contents inventory field guide

For a public adjuster, the contents inventory is one of the core claim documents. It should let the insured, PA team, and receiving adjuster distinguish observed facts, insured-supplied information, professional decisions, pricing research, and valuation assumptions.

This guide focuses on the document itself: what belongs on each line, how to label evidence, how to preserve replacement research, and how to prepare a controlled handoff. It is not legal, coverage, appraisal, safety, restoration, or disposal advice.

If you are selecting technology rather than building the schedule today, start with the public adjuster software for contents claims page. For a severe-loss reconstruction workflow, see total loss inventory software.

A four-part internal review framework

This is a useful internal QA framework, not a universal legal or carrier test:

1. Did the item exist before the loss? — evidence of ownership.
2. Was it damaged or destroyed by a covered peril? — causation, usually handled at the schedule level but occasionally at the line level for partial losses.
3. What does it cost to replace like-kind-and-quality today? — a current, verifiable replacement cost.
4. What is it worth today, given its age and condition? — physical depreciation from replacement cost to actual cash value.

A line that answers all four is easier to review. A line with a gap should identify the gap, the source of any estimate, and the person responsible for resolving or accepting it.

The operational implication: pricing research belongs with the inventory. A source, access date, comparable, and quantity basis make the selected number reproducible.

Line anatomy

Structured fields make the schedule sortable and comparable. Use the same field definitions across the claim, and document why a line is an exception.

A practical minimum field set:

• Room. Use precise, consistent names such as “Upstairs hallway” or “Basement storage closet.”
• Category. Kitchen, electronics, apparel, furniture, media, sporting goods, tools, seasonal, personal. Categories drive depreciation rates downstream.
• Description. Brand, model, material, size, and distinguishing details when knowable. Keep unknown details labeled as unknown.
• Condition grade. A four-level scale is enough: excellent, good, fair, poor. Carriers use their own scales internally; yours should map cleanly.
• Age. In years or as a purchase-date estimate. Identify who supplied an estimate and note uncertainty.
• Quantity and unit of measure. "12 ea" for countables, "3 sets" for matched groupings, "1 lot" for boxes of mixed contents that you've totaled separately.
• Replacement cost (RCV). Per-unit, extended to quantity. This is the number under scrutiny.
• Price source. URL, database reference, or comparable listing. Date of capture. Screenshot attached.
• Depreciation. Percentage and dollar amount, computed from age and condition.
• Actual cash value (ACV). RCV minus depreciation.
• Photo reference. Filename or link to the photo that supports the line. One line can reference multiple photos.

The line is the review unit. A missing field should be visible rather than silently inferred.

The field workflow

Field capture establishes the source record. Follow site-safety, insurer, evidence-preservation, and disposal instructions before entering, moving, or documenting property.

Before entry

When safe and authorized, record exterior context and the areas tied to the contents documentation. Do not make a causation or safety conclusion outside your role.

Collect whatever the insured is authorized and willing to provide: pre-loss photos, order histories, receipts, warranty registrations, appraisals, and account records. Label the source and protect personal and financial information.

Walking the rooms

Photograph systematically, not artistically. The goal is evidence, not composition:

• Wide shots first — enough room context to show the space and the relationship between item groups.
• Zone shots next — one per wall or furniture grouping, showing the density of items and their arrangement.
• Item-level shots last — capture individual items and identifying details where visible and safe; use pre-loss sources and human reconstruction for items the loss-site photos cannot show.

If voice notes are part of the authorized workflow, label the speaker and distinguish observed details from the insured's recollection or promised follow-up documentation.

After the walk

Preserve original capture metadata and upload evidence under the organization's retention and privacy controls. Review AI-drafted lines while the field notes are available, and resolve uncertain grouping, brands, quantities, and conditions before export.

Whatever tooling you use, keep evidence references linked to the line. A reviewer should be able to find the photo, receipt, record, or labeled recollection supporting the entered facts.

The documentation stack

The following evidence groups help organize the file. They are not a legal ranking of admissibility or a guarantee of claim acceptance.

Group 1 — direct item evidence. Photos from the loss site, photos from before the loss, receipts, and invoices.

Group 2 — transaction and registration records. Card or bank statements, order histories, warranty registrations, and manufacturer account records. Handle these records under the claim's privacy requirements.

Group 3 — contextual records. Authorized social photos, real-estate listing photos, and other videos that happen to show the room or item.

Group 4 — insured-supplied recollection or statement. Label who supplied it, the date, and any uncertainty. A licensed professional should determine the appropriate claim form or attestation.

Do not publish a generic evidence distribution as normal. Record the actual evidence mix for the claim and make lines with reconstruction or uncertainty easy to identify.

Pricing and the RCV/ACV split

Replacement cost value is the price to buy a like-kind-and-quality item today, from a retailer the insured could reasonably use, shipped to the insured's address. "Reasonably use" is the phrase that does most of the work. Pricing a mid-tier blender from a specialty retailer when the insured bought it at Target is overreach, and the carrier will price-check it to Target and adjust. Pricing the same blender from a discontinued-item liquidator is understatement, and you owe your client better.

Practical pricing rules that hold up under review:

• Match the comparable to the documented item. Use known brand, model, material, size, features, and buying context without exposing unnecessary financial data.
• Capture the price with a screenshot, not just a URL. Retailer pages change. A dated screenshot survives when the URL 404s six months later.
• Recheck material prices when needed. Record the original access date and follow the receiving team's request for refreshed pricing.
• Use a current price, not a historical one. "Bought for $800 in 2019" is the purchase price, not the replacement cost. The replacement cost is what the equivalent costs today, which may be higher or lower.
• When the exact item is discontinued, price the successor model. Note the discontinuation in the line description. This is normal and expected.
• Flag handmade, antique, collectible, scheduled, or other specialty property. Route valuation and potential sublimit questions to the responsible licensed or authorized professional; an appraisal may be appropriate.

The policy and receiving organization determine what depreciation and recoverability rules apply. Keep RCV, the selected depreciation basis, depreciation amount, and ACV separate so the calculation can be reviewed without reconstructing it.

Do not treat restoration standards such as IICRC S500 as generic personal-property depreciation schedules. Follow the policy and the receiving organization's direction, apply the chosen method consistently, and document a reason for exceptions between otherwise similar items.

Defending lines under challenge

Carriers challenge in predictable patterns. Recognizing the pattern is half the defense.

“We can't find a price source matching this description.” — Recheck the description, comparable, source, access date, price, and quantity basis. Provide the support requested by the receiving team.

"This item is duplicative of line [X]." — Usually a legitimate catch on kitchen consumables or redundant decor items that the insured listed twice from different photos. Consolidate, note the consolidation in the reply, and move on.

"Condition grade appears overstated given age." — The condition-age pair looks inconsistent. Either the age is older than it reads (common on inherited items — note "inherited 2021, manufactured circa 1998"), or the condition is genuinely optimistic. Adjust where you have ground to stand on; hold firm where the insured can speak to condition from memory.

“Depreciation rate below schedule.” — Identify the policy or receiving-team direction used, check the calculation, and document the basis for any exception.

“No corroborating evidence of ownership.” — Identify the available transaction, registration, contextual, or insured-supplied evidence. The licensed professional and insurer determine what additional support or form is required.

The goal in every exchange is to resolve the specific challenge without inviting a second review pass on unrelated lines. Keep replies tight, keep them per-line, and cite the evidence that was already in the package.

Handing the inventory off

The schedule should leave the PA team in control of what version was reviewed, what evidence supports it, and what was actually submitted.

Deliverables that make the hand-off clean:

• The itemized schedule, exported in the requested format — an XactContents-format XLSX when validated for that workflow, CSV, or a structured PDF. The Xactimate contents workflow guide covers the Excel-template handoff.
• A room-level summary that totals RCV, depreciation, and ACV per room, so the desk adjuster can reconcile totals without re-adding.
• A photo archive, organized by room and cross-referenced to line numbers, so the adjuster can click a line and see the evidence in one step.
• Required claim forms or statements, prepared under the responsible licensed professional's direction.
• Supporting documentation, batched by evidence type — receipts and invoices in one folder, bank and credit card records in another, appraisals separately.

A structured package does not guarantee acceptance or timing. It does make the schedule, totals, evidence references, and submitted version easier for the receiving team to inspect.

The one choice that compounds

For each approved priced line, keep the replacement comparable and source with the selected number. Lines that still need research should be visibly unresolved instead of carrying an unexplained value.

Pricing research and line review require real work. Contents inventory software can organize that workflow, but any time-savings claim needs a documented sample and method. The 2026 contents inventory software buyer's guide compares the tool categories; the free total-loss contents inventory checklist provides the field and QA template.

However you do it, the rule is the same. A line without a source is a number the carrier gets to pick. A line with a source is a number you and your client get to defend. The difference between those two patterns is the difference between a claim that settles for what it's worth and one that doesn't.

How Contents.team applies the four-part test

The four-part review framework — existence, causation, replacement cost, and valuation — shapes the fields Contents.team makes available on extracted lines.

• Evidence stays connected to extracted lines through the source photo, while reconstructed items can carry a labeled supporting reference.
• Replacement pricing keeps the selected comparable, source URL, price, and review state visible.
• Valuation keeps age, pre-loss condition, depreciation basis, RCV, depreciation amount, and ACV available for human review.
• Condition is editable and should distinguish observed post-loss damage from estimated pre-loss condition.
• Exports include an XactContents-format XLSX, CSV, and PDF for validation in the receiving workflow.

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Contents.team builds professional contents inventory software for public adjusters, staff adjusters, and restoration teams. AI drafts visible items; people review descriptions, evidence, pricing, condition, valuation, and export. Request access or reach us at sales@contents.team.