Fire & Smoke Damage Claims
Fire Loss Inventory From Your Photos
After a house fire, the last thing you should have to do is sit in a hotel room writing down everything you owned. Upload the photos you already have — from your phone, family albums, or social media — and we generate the itemized fire loss inventory your insurance company needs.
What you get
- Complete contents claim list in Excel format, organized by room and category
- Replacement cost values pulled from current online retailers
- Photo thumbnails embedded as proof for every item
- Brand, model, and description fields filled in automatically
- Links to comparable items so adjusters can verify pricing
- A document formatted to match what insurance adjusters expect
Why fire victims struggle with the contents claim
Insurance policies cover personal property, but only what you can document. After a fire, most homeowners spend weeks trying to remember everything they owned — appliances, clothing, kitchen items, decor, books, tools, electronics. The lists are always incomplete. Adjusters then negotiate down based on what was forgotten. The families hit by the Eaton and Palisades fires showed us how brutal this process is. People in temporary housing, grieving, suddenly asked to itemize a lifetime of belongings from memory. We built ProofList specifically for this moment.
How to use photos you already have
You don't need professional photos of every item. The photos you already took for other reasons — birthday parties, holidays, kids' milestones, before-and-after home projects, real estate listing photos — capture far more of your belongings than you realize. Upload everything you have. Phone camera roll, iCloud, Google Photos, Facebook, Instagram, old emails. ProofList scans each image and identifies the items visible in the background as well as the foreground subjects.
What insurance adjusters actually want
Adjusters work from itemized loss schedules. The cleaner your schedule, the faster the claim processes. We format the output to match the structure adjusters use internally — quantity, description, age, original cost, replacement cost, source — so there's no friction translating your inventory into their system. If your insurer uses a specific template (Encircle, Xactimate, or a custom spreadsheet), the Excel file we produce is structured to copy-paste cleanly into those tools.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fire loss inventory and why do I need one?+
A fire loss inventory is the itemized list of personal property destroyed or damaged in a fire. Insurance companies require this document — sometimes called a contents claim list, statement of loss, or schedule of personal property — before they pay your contents claim. Without one, settlements get delayed, reduced, or denied.
What information does my insurance company need for each item?+
Most insurers ask for: a description of the item, brand and model when known, age or purchase date, original cost, and replacement cost today. ProofList generates all of this automatically from your photos, including links to comparable items currently for sale online so the adjuster can verify pricing.
I lost everything in the fire — what photos can I use?+
Old photos from your phone, social media, family events, or even backgrounds of selfies all work. Most people have far more photos of their belongings than they realize. ProofList accepts any image where items are visible — you don't need pristine product shots.
Does this work for smoke damage claims, not just total loss?+
Yes. Smoke damage claims often need the same level of documentation as total loss claims because soft goods, electronics, and porous materials may not be salvageable. The inventory you generate works for partial loss, smoke damage, and total loss situations.
How long does it take?+
Upload takes a few minutes. Most inventories complete within an hour, even for hundreds of items. Compare that to the days or weeks people typically spend writing lists from memory while still in shock from the fire.