14 - Friday, June 14, 1991 - North Shore News HOME & GARD Visual record of possessions recommended for inventory NOTHING EXCITING io do to- night? Why not spend the evening videotaping your home’s contents? You'd still have nothing exciting to do, but you would end up with one of the most accurate inven- tories of your possessions — and that’s a vital part of any insurance claim. The first step in protecting your property is determining the right amount of insurance. This is bas- ed on the total replacement value of the possessions to be insured, calculated with the help of your independent insurance broker and an accurate household inventory (a checklist of items in the home —- availabie from your broker). A note about replacement value: Most homeowner's policies today cover property for replace- ment, not actual cash value. That means in the event of a loss, the insurance coverage would provide for replacement with a similar item bought at current prices. A color television bought on sale several years ago would cost significantly more to replace to- day. So, the household inventory has been completed and the ap- propriate insurance coverage has been bought. Ther2’s one more thing that many brokers recom- mend to accompany the household inventory — a visual record of all, or at least some, of the items in the home. There are two reasons for a vi- sual record. Under the stressful circumstances of a property loss, many people cannot remember all the items in a given room. A videotape of the whole home can provide the missing parts that memory cannot. Secondly, some items are so unique — a piece of custom-made jewelry, for example — that only a visual record can accurately represent the item, and make an accurate replacement possible. The visual record could be photographs, but more and more insurance brokers are recommen- ding videotaping as the best means of documenting property. If you cannot borrow a video camera for this purpose there are many video and convenience stores which rent easy-to-use video cameras on an overnight basis for a nominal charge, Once the visual records are complete they should be kept, with the household inventory, a record of insurance policies and credit cards, in a safe place out- side of the home (for example, in a safety deposit box). Make a date one evening soon to stay home and make your home’s movie. [t won't go down in the annals of real fun times, but it just may make your life a whole lot easier one day. Consumers alerted to faulty bunkbeds THE PRODUCT Safety Branch of Consumer and Corporate Af- fairs Canada is alerting consumers that the upper bed of certain wooden bunk beds can collapse onto the lower one, with the risk of serious injury to the child below. The Product Safety Branch has received complaints about close calls as a result of the upper bed falling on the lower one. The top posts of such bunk beds are secured to the lower ones by wooden pegs, or dowels, that fit into holes drilled into the upper and lower posts. In the bunk beds that are dan- gerous, the pegs that hok! the up- per and lower posts together are WE DO IT ALL e Reface or replace your existing cabinets ¢ Redo the counters ® Kitchen & bathroom remodelling our specialty CO-ORDINATED KITCHENS Established 225 East First, 985-91 28 North Van PITCH-IN CANADA! too short — they barely extend onto the upper post. As a result, the top posts are not securely held onto the lower ones and can slide off. The top bed can then crash down, causing sericus injury to the child in the lower bed. Consumers using wooden bunk beds purchased between 1987 and 1990 should examine their product vo see if the pegs are long cnough to hold the posts solidly together. If longer pegs are needed, con- sumers should obtain them from the store where the bed was pur- chased. Consumers are reminded that children under six years of age should never be placed in the up- per bed of bunk beds. Children should also be taught not to use bunk beds as play structures. For more information, contact the nearest district office of Con- sumer and Corporate Affairs Canada. the elegant patio cover BALCONY ENCLOSURES SCLARIUMS SAVE YOUR SUNDECK FROM RAIN PROPUCA NA industries Ld. _103 Riverside Drive, North Van. Yd, _— yf oe Sale until the end of June only 929-3814 A HO 70% Frames Only — 4e ba 0 OFF Rattan Chairs, Bove Soaetied Items ec Su wane 50% OFF 907% ore 1420 Fell Ave., N.Van. (corner of Fell & Marine) B nterior E xterior Residential Commercial Professional Quality Guaranteed Recens free Estimates» .. 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