There was a great deal of interest from our members for NICA to pursue establishing a special day, week, or month designated for Home Inventory.

With your support, we have decided to pursue establishing a National Home Inventory Month, with the intent to help create awareness of the need for a home inventory and the benefits of being a NICA member.

The Committee members who determined the feasibility of this initiative and who are currently working on this program are:

• Debra Palmer, Palmer Home and Business Inventory Professionals – Tampa, Florida
• Jo Soard, American Home Inventory Professionals – Indianapolis, Indiana
• Tricia Hoekwater, Uniquely Yours Digital Solutions – Pittsburg, California

The committee chose April to be the month designated as National Home Inventory Month. The committee agreed that instead of recognition just for a day or week, having the entire month would be more beneficial. This will allow all inventory professionals to promote their services for a longer period of time, which will help gain more recognition.

Another factor in choosing April was to avoid other established awareness months for related industries: National Safety Month (June), National Preparedness Month (September) and National Fire Prevention Month (October). It is also a “spring cleaning” season, which often ties into wanting an inventory once old items are discarded.

The focus for NICA as an association and each member as a professional home inventory service provider are:

• To help develop awareness and understanding of the need for a home inventory.
• To provide education to the public regarding the value of having thorough documents of one’s belongings, including how the insurance claim process works and why an inventory is essential for an equitable settlement.
• Promote the many reasons for a home inventory: disaster preparedness and recovery, estate settlement, financial and estate planning, divorce/separation of assets, and pre-nuptials.
• This will be achieved through one-on-one conversations, social media presence, scheduled speaking opportunities, and introducing this service to insurance agents, estate attorneys, personal property appraisers, and financial planners. 

The committee has a lot of work to do in March to be prepared for an April 1 launch of this special month. Thank you to these members for stepping up and serving our association and industry.