National Hurricane Preparedness Week begins May 3. Insurance groups have been telling homeowners to inventory their belongings for years. Almost nobody actually does it. That's the opening.

Every major insurance and consumer protection organization says the same thing: before a loss, document what you own. The Insurance Information Institute recommends listing item descriptions, purchase details, make and model, serial numbers, and flagging big-ticket items that might need extra coverage review. NAIC tells consumers to include brand, price paid, purchase date, serial numbers, photos, and receipts. The Texas Department of Insurance says to photograph or videotape every room, closet, storage building, and garage.

The advice is clear. The follow-through is not. People know they should do this. They don't sit down and do it.

That gap is the service.

A client records a room-by-room walkthrough on their phone and uploads the videos, photos, and any receipts they have. You watch the footage, pull out every visible item, and build a clean spreadsheet: room, item, category, quantity, brand, model, serial number, estimated replacement value, purchase date, receipt or photo link, and notes. You organize the evidence into folders by room, export a PDF copy, and return the whole package with a checklist of anything missing.

The client reviews, confirms values and ownership, and stores backups outside the home or in the cloud. NAIC, Triple-I, and the Texas Department of Insurance all recommend keeping copies somewhere safe and separate.

No home visits. No phone calls. No live walkthroughs. The client uploads; you deliver. That's the introvert-friendly version.

Honest disclaimer: there is no reliable national benchmark for this kind of done-for-you service. The pricing evidence is thin and adjacent. Here's what's visible.

Based on those signals, a beginner could plausibly test a one-room sample at $49 to $79, a small apartment package at $99 to $149, and a full-home remote package at $199 to $299. These are estimated starting prices, not market averages. Treat them as test prices and adjust.

For small packages, full payment upfront keeps things simple. For larger ones, a 50/50 split (half upfront, half on delivery) reduces risk on both sides.

Pick one room in your own home. Record a slow walkthrough on your phone. Then build the spreadsheet: room, item, category, quantity, brand, model, serial number, purchase date, price paid, estimated replacement cost, receipt/photo link, notes, and a client verification column.

Use Google Sheets (free) and Google Drive or Dropbox Basic (free, 2 GB) for file storage and delivery. Export a PDF. Organize photos into a folder. That one-room sample becomes your demo, your portfolio piece, and your proof of concept.

Write a short scope description that says "documentation service only," "not insurance advice," "not appraisal," "not claim negotiation," and "client verifies all values and ownership." This matters because claim negotiation can fall into public adjuster territory, which requires licensing in many states.

Then set up a payment link, write a one-page offer, and find your first client.

DIY alternatives are free. Phone cameras, Google Sheets, the NAIC's free inventory app, and basic cloud storage mean anyone can do this themselves. Your value is that you actually will.

You can't promise claim outcomes. An inventory can support a claim and help with coverage planning, but it does not guarantee faster settlement or a higher payout.

Privacy is serious. Clients are sharing footage of their homes, valuables, closets, and personal spaces. Use limited-access folders, minimize what you collect, skip requests for policy numbers or identity documents, and define when you'll delete their files.

Demand is seasonal and regional. The hurricane preparedness hook is strongest in coastal and hurricane-prone areas. It's a real timing signal, but not proof of a national surge in paid demand for this service.

Stay in your lane. If you start interpreting policy terms, estimating covered losses, or talking to insurers on a client's behalf, you may be crossing into work that requires a public adjuster license. Document. Organize. Hand it back. That's the boundary.

Record a five-minute walkthrough of one room. Turn it into a spreadsheet. That sample is your product, your pitch, and your proof that the work is real. Hurricane season starts June 1. The prep window is now.