Contents losses can be time-consuming and complex, often with an inventory of hundreds—sometimes thousands—of personal property items that each require a replacement cost. And research shows that contents claims are growing in size and complexity. Many contents restoration professionals are responding to these contents claim challenges by using advances in mobile technology to eliminate repetitive steps and work faster and more precisely.

Data from Xactware shows the trend toward larger and more expensive contents losses. For instance, since 2010, the average cost of a contents claim reported to Xactware has increased 37.6%. The average total quantity of items in a contents claim jumped from 86 items in 2010 to 130 in 2014. Contents restoration professionals are not only dealing with increasingly larger losses, they are also facing growing pressure from both insurance carriers and policyholders to quickly and accurately document the claim. Traditional contents estimating methods—such as jotting notes on a pad of paper at the site and then reentering that data into a claims estimating system—often require redundant entry and multiple site visits. This makes it expensive for the contents restoration professional to document the claim, and the longer cycle time can lead to lower customer satisfaction.