After a Break-In: How to Document What You Lost

Updated July 16, 2026

If you are reading this because it has just happened: the practical steps are below, and they are more manageable than they feel right now. The hardest part of a burglary is often not the loss itself but the question that follows it — what, exactly, is gone? The police will ask. Your insurer will ask, in more detail. Answering from memory, in the days after, is genuinely difficult. Here is how to approach it.

The question you cannot answer from memory

You will remember the laptop and the television. You will not remember the make of the headphones, the second camera lens, the jewellery in the drawer you rarely open, or the tools from the shed. It is not carelessness — human memory is not an index, and it works badly under stress. People routinely file a claim, and then remember more missing items weeks later, once the shape of what was there comes back to them.

First, the practical order

• Report it to the police and get a crime reference number
• Tell your insurer early — most policies expect prompt notice
• Photograph the damage and the disturbed rooms before tidying
• Do not throw anything away until the insurer says you can
• Then start the list

Work room by room, not from memory

Do not sit down and try to recall what is gone. Walk each room and look at what is left — absence is much easier to spot in context than to summon in the abstract. An empty spot on a shelf, a gap in a drawer, a bare desk. Write things down as you notice them and expect the list to grow over several days; that is normal, not a failure.

What your insurer will actually ask for

Insurers want more than names. For each item they will typically want a description, an approximate age or purchase date, what it cost, and some evidence you owned it — a receipt, a photograph, a bank statement, the box, or the manual. The items you can evidence go through smoothly. The ones you can only describe are where claims get reduced or argued over.

Look for proof you already have

Even without an inventory, you have more evidence than you think. Old photographs often contain your possessions in the background — a party photo showing the television, a picture of the dog showing the bike behind it. Email confirms purchases. Bank and card statements date them. Warranty registrations exist. It is tedious archaeology, but it is usually the difference between a described item and an evidenced one.

Why this happens to almost everyone

The reason so few people can answer the question is not negligence — it is that the work only makes sense before you need it, and there is never any urgency to do it beforehand. An inventory is one of those tasks that feels optional right up until the single day it does not. If you are here after the fact, that is the situation nearly everyone is in.

Making next time easier

Once the immediate mess is behind you, the honest lesson is worth acting on while it is still vivid. A catalogue of what you own — photographed, valued, with receipts kept alongside — turns the impossible question into a document you hand over. It does not take long to build, and it is one of the few things you can do now that will genuinely matter later. Start with the valuable and the replaceable; that is most of the claim.

Doing it with Stowly

Stowly exists for exactly this problem. Photograph what you own, record what it cost and when you bought it, and keep the receipt attached to the item — so if you ever need to answer the question, you can export a complete inventory PDF for your insurer instead of reconstructing it from memory. It flags valuable items that have no proof of purchase attached, so you find the gaps before they matter. Unlimited items are free with no credit card; receipt storage and the insurance PDF come with Plus.

Frequently asked questions

Can I add items to a claim later? Usually yes — insurers generally expect a list to develop, and remembering more later is common. Tell them as soon as you notice, and keep any evidence you find.

What if I have no receipts? Photographs, emails, bank statements, boxes, and manuals all help establish ownership. It is harder without them, which is precisely why keeping proof alongside your inventory matters before anything happens.

Does an inventory really speed up a claim? It removes the slowest and most contested part — establishing what you had and what it was worth. Handing over a documented list is a very different conversation from trying to remember one.