Insurance group offers free software to inventory possessions

(CBC) - An insurance industry lobby group is offering consumers free downloadable software to help take inventory of possessions.

Such an inventory is useful when making insurance claims, and most Canadians don't know much about the value of their possessions, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) said Wednesday.

Few Canadians have an inventory, which means that "most people don't have a clear idea of how much it would cost to replace everything they own," IBC president and CEO Mark Yakabuski said in a release.

The "know your stuff" software is part of an IBC web-based campaign aimed at giving consumers the information needed to insure their possessions.

A survey by the Pollara pollsters cited by IBC suggested that 95 per cent of Canadians think creating an inventory is important, but only one in three has done so.

"We have known for some time that consumers have a tendency to overestimate what they know about insurance, and the survey shows that Canadians have a long way to go in preparing themselves adequately against the loss of major possessions," Yakabuski said.

The bureau is focusing on promoting the idea through its website because it is more entertaining, and "will not be relying on less engaging information vehicles, such as brochures," said Mary Lou O'Reilly, vice-president of public affairs and marketing.