Heed the warning! My soundsystem and records are a pile of ashes

Wow so sorry for your loss. Hope you are able to replace what's important. Something I started several years ago is a spreadsheet listing every record album and CD I own. I can add notes as necessary to each as needed. Of course pictures is also a good idea and everything saved in the cloud for good measure. 

@amitynick thanks for posting a positive result with an insurance company.  Most people only post when they have a negative experiene and then the haters pile on and people hate insurance companies.  it isn't always bad. 

Lets hope the OP has a similar mostly positive experience with insurance.

As for limits, you choose how much you want to pay for and many people go with lower limits to save money.  that is a personal choice and I see you wish you'd gone with higher limits.

Finally, you didn't mention all the priceless things you lost.  While you got your insurance coverage worked out, the pain and stress and loss must have been tough.  I don't wish that on anybody.

Jerry

@jsal3689 ,

I lived on the Gulf Coast many years. You anywhere near Panama City?

I’ve now got a house in the Northeast part. If somebody loses a few shingles in a storm anywhere in the state, my insurance goes up.

@OP, sending positive vibes your way. You and your loved ones won the Life Lottery. Compared to that, anything you lost materially is meaningless. 

OP, my deepest sympathies and glad you and family are safe. Rebuilding is a hard process but it also gives you an opportunity to build something better. I know things with sentimental importance are irreplaceable but there is nothing above your personal and family well being. 

@fbgbill 

Look into CLZ Music software, it’s a great software to catalog your music collection. And its accessibility has been a huge help in avoiding dupe purchases when I am out and about shopping for elusive records or CD’s. 

Thank you all so much for the encouragement and sympathy. I needed a place to cry about my hifi and records when everyone around me has lost so much, and this felt like a good place for it haha

@nonoise Very helpful to have all those programs listed on one page with explanations. I'm getting so much piecemeal information, having everything in one place, with the limits of the help, is honestly very helpful.

@amitynick This is so good to hear. It's exactly the fight I'm preparing for. I think I'll be able to easily hit my personal property limit, so at least there's that.

@jsal3689 Same here, Louisiana native. Have always been blessed going through hurricanes Andrew, Isadore, Katrina... this is the first time a natural disaster has put me out. What I saw as I left my house was truly a fire hurricane... unbelievable.

@fbgbill One good thing is that my entire collection is meticulously catalogued on Discogs. I don't have receipts/photos of everything, but I do for a lot of it. Hoping it helps...