The property claim inspection checklist

A property inspection goes wrong in one of two ways: something gets missed on site, or something gets missed before you ever arrive. The second kind is more common and entirely preventable. This checklist covers the whole arc — assignment review, the on-site sequence, and the wrap-up pass that decides whether you drive back.

Scope caveat: this is a residential property baseline. Commercial risks, large losses, and specialty perils add steps it doesn't cover, and any carrier or client protocol on the assignment controls over this list. Where a step involves physical risk — roofs above all — your judgment about safety overrides everything here.

Phase 1 — Before you drive

1. 1.Read the entire assignment, not the summary line. Note the reported cause of loss, the date of loss, and any special handling instructions.
2. 2.Confirm coverage basics you'll need on site — policy form, deductible, endorsements that touch the reported peril. You are not making coverage decisions in the driveway, but you should know what questions the file will ask.
3. 3.Contact the insured — confirm the appointment, who will be present, access constraints (locked gates, dogs, tenants), and ask them to gather receipts, prior repair records, and any photos they took at the time of loss.
4. 4.Check prior claims history if it's available to you. Prior damage in the same area changes what you document.
5. 5.Prepare your documents — blank forms you use, sketch materials, and anything requiring a signature.
6. 6.Stage your equipment the night before: ladder, tape, moisture meter, chalk, pitch gauge, flashlight, shoe covers, PPE. Charge everything that has a battery.

Phase 2 — Arrival

1. 1.Photograph the street scene and address marker before you knock. (The full photo protocol is its own guide — the claim photo checklist.)
2. 2.Walk the perimeter once without documenting anything. First impressions catch what checklists miss — you're building a mental map of what the loss looks like before you commit to a route.
3. 3.Interview the insured on site. What happened, when, what did they see first, what have they moved, cleaned, or repaired since? Note their answers contemporaneously. What they show you drives your route; what they tell you drives your questions.
4. 4.Note occupancy and general condition — they contextualize everything else in the file.

Phase 3 — Exterior sequence

Work one direction around the risk and don't break the loop:

1. 1.Each elevation in turn: siding, trim, openings, fixtures.
2. 2.Oblique angles at each corner — flat elevations hide impact damage.
3. 3.Soft metals — gutters, downspouts, window screens, and the AC condenser's fins. Dents and strikes here corroborate or contradict a reported impact peril, and they hold the evidence long after shingles are argued over.
4. 4.Fencing, outbuildings, and detached structures — inspect them even if they weren't reported.
5. 5.Grade, drainage, and vegetation where the reported peril makes them relevant.

Phase 4 — The roof decision

The roof gets inspected; whether you walk it is a separate decision. Steep pitch, wet or brittle surfaces, second-story eaves, or deteriorated decking are each sufficient reason to document from the ladder, use an inspection device, or request a specialist. A fall ends more than the inspection day. If you do walk it:

1. 1.Overview of each slope before any detail work.
2. 2.Test squares marked and photographed per your protocol.
3. 3.Penetrations, flashing, ridge, and valleys individually.
4. 4.Note repairs and prior patching — age and layering matter to the story the file tells.

Phase 5 — Interior sequence

1. 1.Work affected rooms in a consistent order; in each: ceiling, then walls, then floor.
2. 2.Trace water damage to its highest point — the stain on the first floor started somewhere above it.
3. 3.Take moisture readings across damaged and adjacent undamaged material, and record both.
4. 4.Check the spaces nobody reported: the closet backing the wet wall, the room below the bathroom, attic and crawl spaces the peril could reach.
5. 5.Document contents damage grouped by room.
6. 6.Photograph model and serial plates on damaged appliances and equipment. Once they're hauled away, that information is gone.

Phase 6 — Measurements and sketch

1. 1.Sketch every affected room and elevation with dimensions — measure, don't estimate.
2. 2.Capture ceiling heights, and note materials and finishes at the level of detail your estimate will need. A sketch you annotate on site is worth three you reconstruct at your desk.

Phase 7 — Wrap-up before you leave

This pass is the difference between one trip and two:

• Walk your notes against the insured's statement — is everything they reported either documented or explicitly noted as not observed?
• Review the photo set in capture order for orphaned close-ups.
• Confirm every measurement your sketch needs actually exists.
• Ask the insured the closing question: "Is there anything else you want me to look at while I'm here?" — and document the answer either way.
• Tell them what happens next in the process. Ten seconds of expectation-setting prevents most status calls.

Common failure modes