How to build a spoilage inventory an adjuster will accept
By Vimal Bhaya, Founder and Lead Systems Architect · Last reviewed 28 October 2026
This is a continuation of Food spoilage insurance and claims, an 8-part tutorial. You are on part 4 of 8.
List every item you lost, with its quantity, its cost and the invoice that proves it, and keep the spoiled stock apart until the adjuster has seen it. Commercial policies can ask for exactly that: complete inventories of the damaged and undamaged property, with quantities, costs, values and the amount you claim.
The adjuster totals the claim line by line from those records. A line with no invoice behind it is the line most likely to be cut.
Your policy spells out what the inventory must show
The duties after a loss are written into commercial property policies. A common wording asks you to:
- "Give us complete inventories of the damaged and undamaged property." Undamaged stock counts too, not only what was lost.
- "Include quantities, costs, values and amount of loss claimed."
- Let the insurer "inspect the property proving the loss or damage" and "examine your books and records."
- Send a signed, sworn proof of loss, usually within 60 days of the insurer asking for it.
Everything below is how to meet those duties without losing a week to it.
In the first hour, protect the evidence and the food rules together
- Write down the time you found the problem, and the reading on the box's thermometer.
- Call your broker or insurer before anything is thrown out, if you can.
- Move the spoiled stock apart and label it "do not use".
- Photograph everything before it moves: the shelves, the case labels, the thermometer and the failed equipment.
- Keep the repair technician's report. It names the cause, and the cause decides which cover pays.
Food safety comes first. Never sell or serve stock that has been out of temperature. If your health department says it must go now, photograph it, list it, then let it go, and keep the disposal receipt.
One row per item, with the invoice beside it
A spreadsheet with these columns covers what the policy asks for:
| Column | What to write | Why the adjuster needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Item | The name as it appears on the supplier's invoice | So each line matches an invoice line |
| Lot or code | The lot, pack or date code on the case | Ties the case on the shelf to a delivery |
| Quantity | Cases or units, counted, not estimated | The policy asks for quantities |
| Unit cost | What you paid per case or unit | The policy asks for costs and values |
| Invoice | Supplier, invoice number and date | The proof behind the cost |
| Line total | Quantity times unit cost | Adds up to the amount you claim |
| Where it was | Which box, which shelf | Shows it was in the box that failed |
| Photo | The number of the photo that shows it | Lets the adjuster check without a site visit |
Do the stock that survived on a second tab, with the same columns. That is the "undamaged property" the policy also asks for.
Most lost stock is paid at what it cost you, not what you would sell it for
- Stock not yet sold is paid at actual cash value on the standard spoilage form. For food bought recently, that is close to the invoice price.
- Stock already sold and waiting to ship is paid at the selling price, less discounts and the costs you no longer have. Keep the purchase order or order confirmation that proves it was sold.
- Finished goods you make can be paid at selling price if your policy has that option. Ask your broker whether it does.
So claim the invoice price, not the menu price. One operator described a loss as $1,200 of inventory, about $7,000 at menu prices. The claim is the $1,200.
Five gaps cut spoilage claims
- No invoice. Use bank or card statements, or ask the supplier to reprint invoices from your account. An estimate may be accepted, but it is the weakest line on the sheet.
- Stock thrown out before it was counted or photographed. Then there is nothing left to prove the quantity.
- No cause on paper. Without the technician's report, a sudden breakdown can look like wear and tear or a door left open, and those are not covered.
- A broken policy condition. If your spoilage cover requires a refrigeration service agreement and it lapsed, breakdown cover may have been suspended.
- A late proof of loss. Diary the 60 days from the day the insurer asks.
Keep the service dates in one place, so a lapsed agreement or a missed visit never surprises you. The free maintenance record below has a column for every visit and a repairs log for the invoices.
Seven other records to have ready
- Recent purchase invoices, which show what you normally hold.
- Receiving logs and lot records.
- Photos and video of the loss and the equipment.
- The technician's report, and your maintenance and repair history.
- Temperature logs. Two broker guides list them among the records to keep.
- Receipts for what you spent to save the rest, such as dry ice, a rented refrigerated trailer or overtime.
- Sales records, if you also claim lost income.
How the claim runs after that, from the adjuster's review to payment, is in food spoilage insurance: what it pays, and what you still pay. Whether equipment breakdown cover applies is in equipment breakdown insurance.
Dreading a claim inventory? Better to never need one
TemperatureWise catches the failure before the food warms, so there is nothing to count. It alerts at least 4 to 5 days before a failing defrost timer or evaporator stops the box, and within hours when a box stops cooling.
If a claim does come, TemperatureWise has already kept every reading from before, during and after the failure, indefinitely. It also keeps the action staff recorded against each alert. That is a dated record of when the box warmed and what was done, ready to hand over with the rest.
TemperatureWise records temperatures, not what was on the shelf. The inventory and the invoices are still yours to keep.