Investigation and scope
Claim Photo Log Template & Example
Last updated 2026-10-09
Give the examiner a way to find the photograph behind each observation. A useful caption identifies the room, the component and what is visible; a useful index also identifies the file and its source. The scope sheet carries the measured work. This log connects the images to that work without asking a photograph to supply a measurement or a cause that has not been established.
The Texas Department of Insurance recommends taking photographs or video of damaged property before repairs, if possible. NAIC Model 910 §6 describes a reconstructable claim file and includes investigation documentation; §9 addresses reproducible records and archival storage. Those model provisions are not binding law on their own. The layout below is this library's suggested way to organize a property claim's images, not a prescribed form or a required shot list.
The Harbour Lane example shows selected entries from an inspection set and a separately received image whose capture date is unconfirmed. It also corrects an overconfident caption. That correction matters: the label beside an image should not turn an unresolved question into an apparent finding. The captioned report remains the place to explain the investigation and its conclusions.
Jurisdiction
Written primarily against US first-party property practice. Claim handling is regulated state by state — acknowledgment and response deadlines, prompt-payment requirements, adjuster licensing and unfair claims practices standards all differ — and the policy actually issued governs the claim. Where a page cites a statute, model act or regulation, confirm what applies in the state where the loss occurred. Outside the US, treat the structure as transferable and the legal references as not.
Claim Photo Log template
Free Word download, no email required. Or open it in Professional Drafter — it lands in your template library, ready to draft against.
When to use this document
- When assembling inspection photographs for a first-party property report, so each report reference leads to an identifiable image.
- When adding policyholder or contractor images that have a different source or an uncertain capture date.
- When correcting captions or issuing annotated copies and you need to retain a clear connection to the files received.
Worked example
Fictional scenario: a photo-log extract for the Harbour Lane water loss, claim PC-2026-11482, insured D. Okonjo, adjuster R. Calloway. All names, dates, identifiers, filenames and image counts in this example are fictional and illustrative. No actual photographs accompany it. The capture date of a later policyholder image and the duration of the release remain unresolved.
Claim and image-set identification
Claim PC-2026-11482; insured D. Okonjo; property 118 Harbour Lane. Reported date of loss: 14 July 2026. Inspection: 18 July 2026. Index prepared by R. Calloway on 20 July 2026, revision B.
Set RC contains the 47 inspection photographs referenced in the captioned report. The entries below are an extract, selected to demonstrate the indexing method; they are not the complete image schedule. Set DO contains one separately supplied policyholder image. It is not included in the report's count of 47 inspection photographs.
Source, capture date and receipt date
Set RC: photographed by R. Calloway during the 18 July inspection and added to the claim file that day. The inspection notes identify the visit date. These are post-discovery inspection views; they are not presented as photographs of the property when standing water was first found.
Set DO: supplied by D. Okonjo through the claim portal on 20 July. He described the image as showing the hallway before the restoration vendor attended. The capture date has not been confirmed. Receipt on 20 July is recorded independently from his account of when the image was taken. Stored under the claim's Policyholder images folder, with the accompanying portal message.
Image index and factual captions
Image reference | Filename | Location and view | Visible observation and related reference
RC-03 | RC_003.jpg | Utility closet, supply connection detail | Separation visible at the heater-end connection; see report, Cause and origin.
RC-11 | RC_011.jpg | Hallway, lower wall overview | Discoloration visible along the lower wall; see scope, hallway wall items.
RC-19 | RC_019.jpg | Hallway, floor detail | Raised edges visible at flooring joints; see scope, hallway flooring.
RC-27 | RC_027.jpg | Detached garage, interior overview | No standing water visible within this view; see report, Scope of damages.
DO-A | hallway.jpg | Hallway, supplied by insured | Reflective area visible across part of the floor; supplied context and capture date remain to be confirmed.
The caption for RC-27 describes this image's visible field. The broader statement that the garage was inspected comes from the inspection record. It is not inferred from the photograph alone.
Limits and missing views
The selected images do not show the flooring beneath the utility-closet base cabinet or the insulation inside the affected wall cavity. Those scope items remain undetermined. No image in this extract is being used to assign a quantity to either concealed area.
DO-A has no confirmed capture date. R. Calloway will ask the insured for the available original file and clarification of when and where he took it at the next contact planned for 25 July. If that information cannot be obtained, the log will retain the uncertainty. Neither DO-A nor the inspection set establishes how long the supply line released water.
Copies, annotations and corrections
The received RC and DO files are retained without added arrows or text. Working copy RC_011_annotated.jpg adds an arrow identifying the discolored area discussed in the report. It contains no measurement label. The source remains RC_011.jpg.
Revision A captioned RC-11 as evidence of a long-running leak. That wording was withdrawn in revision B on 20 July because the photograph does not establish duration. The replacement caption describes the discoloration only. Revision A and this correction note remain in the file so a reader can identify what changed and why.
Report references and delivery record
Revision B accompanies the captioned report and the scope dated 18 July. The examiner receives the complete RC set, DO-A, its portal message and the annotated working copy through the claim file on 20 July. A diary entry records that delivery.
The report references continue to use the RC image numbers. DO-A is listed separately with its unresolved capture date. The examiner is asked to use revision B's factual caption for RC-11 and to retain the open questions about release duration and concealed areas in the investigation plan.
Section-by-section guide
What each section is for, what a good one contains, and where they typically go wrong.
1.Claim and image-set identification
Identify the claim, property, inspection and person preparing the index. State whether the log covers the complete set or selected images. Keep an inspection set distinguishable from later submissions so a reader can tell which visit or source supplied an image.
2.Source, capture date and receipt date
Use separate entries for who supplied the image, when it was taken if established, and when it reached the claim file. If the capture date is only a person's account, attribute it. NAIC Model 910 §6(C) describes recording initial receipt dates on documents received from the listed outside sources. A receipt date does not answer when the scene was photographed.
3.Image index and factual captions
Give each image a stable reference and retain a mapping to its filename. Describe the visible subject before adding any explanation. Attribute information supplied by someone else. Where a photograph supports a scope line, include that line's reference; keep the measured quantity and its method on the scope sheet. The columns below are suggested labels, not official form fields.
4.Limits and missing views
State what the supplied views leave unresolved. Distinguish a surface shown in an image from a concealed area that was not inspected. Record an absent view as missing, rather than treating it as proof that no damage exists. Give each material gap an action and an owner, or explain why further evidence is unavailable.
5.Copies, annotations and corrections
Keep the received files and identify annotated working copies separately. Record what an annotation adds and which source image it uses. Correct an inaccurate caption with a dated note that names the earlier wording. This is a drafting method for retaining the distinction between evidence and later explanation; it does not certify authenticity or legal admissibility.
6.Report references and delivery record
List the report or scope revision that uses the index, what was supplied to the reviewer and when. Check that the recipient can locate the referenced files. Record the transmission in the claim diary; the photo log supplies the image-level detail without replacing that chronology.
Common mistakes
The failure modes that show up most often when this document is reviewed later.
Using an upload date as the capture date.
It assigns a scene to a date that may describe only file receipt. Keep both dates and label any unconfirmed capture date.
Writing a cause or duration conclusion into a descriptive caption.
The reader can no longer tell what the image shows and what the writer inferred. Describe the image, then put the supported reasoning in the report.
Renumbering images without updating the report references.
A report reference may lead to a different image after the edit. Keep stable references or issue an explicit mapping with the revised index.
Replacing the received image with an annotated copy.
A reviewer loses the opportunity to compare the added explanation with the received image. Retain both and identify which is the working copy.
Treating an absent photograph as a negative finding.
An undocumented area and an inspected, unaffected area are different records. State the gap and connect any planned inspection to the open scope item.
Questions
- How many photographs should the log contain?
- Choose the views needed to explain this inspection and satisfy the applicable assignment instructions. This template sets no minimum count. The count in the example is invented, and the cited TDI advice does not prescribe a number of photographs.
- Can I include images supplied by the insured?
- Yes, in a separately identified set with the supplier, receipt date and any known capture information. Describe unverified context as the supplier's account. The example shows how to retain a useful image while leaving its date unresolved.
- Does this log prove that an image is authentic?
- No. It records the source and handling information available to the writer. Do not describe an image as authenticated merely because it has a filename, date entry or index number. Refer an authenticity question for appropriate review rather than resolving it through a caption.
- Is this a required national photo-log format?
- No. It is an editorial template for first-party property files. The cited NAIC publication is a model regulation, and TDI's homeowner advice supports documenting damage without prescribing this layout. Check the actual assignment requirements and applicable state rules before use.
The blank template
Exactly what is in the Word download, so you can see the structure before deciding whether you want it.
Claim and image-set identification
Source, capture date and receipt date
Image index and factual captions
Limits and missing views
Copies, annotations and corrections
Report references and delivery record
Download this template
Free Word download, no email required. Or open it in Professional Drafter — it lands in your template library, ready to draft against.
Sources
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This page is a documentation aid, not legal advice and not a coverage opinion. Claim-handling requirements vary by state and by policy wording, and a template cannot tell you what your file requires. The worked example describes a fictional loss.