Write down what happened while you still remember it. Dates blur within weeks, and an insurer will ask for them months later: when the damage started, who you called, when the water was shut off, when the first adjuster came. A timeline you wrote in the first days is worth more than a recollection you assemble in month three.

What it covers

• The date and time of the loss, and how you learned of it
• Every call, visit and email, in order, with names
• Emergency work done, and who did it
• Where you stayed and what it cost, for additional living expenses

When to use it

Start it today, even if the claim has not been filed yet, and add a line each time something happens. It is the backbone of the claim file, and it is what the Claim Tracking Worksheet and Recoverable Depreciation Tracker hang off.

Get the Loss Timeline sheet → It arrives by email with the other Wardkeep Recovery™ templates.

Starting from nothing — no inventory, no photographs? Begin here, then work through the templates hub in order.