affordable collectible insurance

[Thor996]

Any information on affordable insurance would really appreciate. Thanks a bunch.

[Bluehawk]

Not certain if this still obtains today, but in my long museum career I learned (through insurance workshops and a LOT of experience) that it is far more cost-effective for a private individual to add a rider to an already existing homeowner's insurance coverage than to take out a special binder (as they call it) specifically for collectibles - for which premiums are calculated at a much higher risk exposure.

 

Also, be conscious of the difference between "blanket" and "scheduled" policies.

 

Blanket = Everything to be insured is lumped together and the premium is based on one total dollar value

 

Scheduled = Everything to be insured is listed specifically as a line item with dollar value per each

 

Finally, since insurance premiums are based upon dollar value, it is useful to know that every artifact has three basic ones, any or all of which can be the same or different.

1. Purchase price

2. Appraised value

3. Insurance value

 

This is how it was, for decades, and probably still is today, at least in America. Additionally, every insurer may have a different set of policy guidelines which may or will have an effect on cost of premium,

[Bluehawk]

A couple of other thoughts:

 

> IIRC, it was the IRS who, for tax deductibility purposes, came up with the unique notion of "fair market value" - which they define, roughly, as being "The price paid for something to a willing seller by a willing buyer within the last 3 years, neither party being under any duress." That, too, has or can have an impact of evaluation for insurance purposes.

 

> There is an old saying, "Do not insure anything you can afford to lose." Most people want to be cautious about their assets, of course, and insurance gives what one might characterize as a somewhat false sense of security that, in the world of collectibles, in the event of catastrophic loss (fire, acts of nature or G-d, war, theft etc.) they can be "made whole" again afterward. That, of course, is usually not a completely true assertion.

[CNY Militaria]

Only one I would ever recommend:

 

https://collectinsure.com

 

Their pricing, customer service, and policies are unrivaled in my opinion. You do not need items appraised like most other conpanies, and they even cover loss of items from shipping. I have made two claims in recent years and they were fantastic.

 

I should also note that they do set up at SOS and many collectors Ive spoken to use them with the same impressions noted above.

[Thor996]

thank you so much for this info~ dave

[Dave]

Only one I would ever recommend:

 

https://collectinsure.com

 

Their pricing, customer service, and policies are unrivaled in my opinion. You do not need items appraised like most other conpanies, and they even cover loss of items from shipping. I have made two claims in recent years and they were fantastic.

 

I should also note that they do set up at SOS and many collectors Ive spoken to use them with the same impressions noted above.

 

 

I concur with Justin...I've had them for 17 years and wouldn't use anyone else.

[Thor996]

thank u dave and justin i truly appreciate it

[Ronnie]

Homeowners Insurance covers your personal property. Someone stole my patch notebook at the Memphis Military Collectors Club meeting a few years back. It was my collection of Airborne and Special Forces Patches. I went to the Police Station nearest to where we met and reported the loss. I then reported it to State Farm. I made a list as best I could and threw in some photos I had made of a few of the patches. I had no receipts but I did have a friend who was a State Farm Claim Rep and he had seen my collection including my Patch collection. He wrote a note to State Farm for me and State Farm issued my a check after the deductible of over $8000.00. The sad thing is that to this day I still remember patches that I left off. Moral is.....take pictures and make a list.

Ronnie

[Bluehawk]

[Ronnie]

???

[Kadet]

 

 

I concur with Justin...I've had them for 17 years and wouldn't use anyone else.

I've also had a policy w/ this firm for many years. Their policies are designed for collectors. A blanket dollar amount that covers everything below $5K in value. Items above that value must be individually scheduled. The policy also covers shipping when you buy and sell, scaled to the type of shipping method, and will also cover the items that you bring to or from a show. I never bother w/ postal insurance, and save a bit of $ in the process.

[Thor996]

I've also had a policy w/ this firm for many years. Their policies are designed for collectors. A blanket dollar amount that covers everything below $5K in value. Items above that value must be individually scheduled. The policy also covers shipping when you buy and sell, scaled to the type of shipping method, and will also cover the items that you bring to or from a show. I never bother w/ postal insurance, and save a bit of $ in the process.

 

I really appreciate the input on this guys. thanks much

 

dave

[644td]

Great subject matter!!!!

[ocsfollowme]

Working with collectinsure right now. For a $65,000 collection it appears to be $338 per year to insure.

[Dave]

I have a valuable personal property floater with my insurance company, and it has individual policies for things like my cameras and other valuable items. I've had this policy for about seven years now and have never made a claim on it. Here's a little story of why I don't use them to cover my collection...

 

I was moving some boxes in my garage following our recent move and found that part of the floor had gotten wet, thus making some of the bottom boxes damp. I opened up one of the boxes, and found one of our nice DSLR cameras in the bottom of the box. In addition to becoming a home for mice (it was in a padded case) it had gotten wet and then grown a good coating of green-blue mold on it. Needless to say, this camera was done for.

 

It was on my valuables policy, so I called my insurance company. I told them the state of the camera - how it had mice living in it, gotten wet, and was now covered in mold. The guy with the insurance company put me on hold and a couple of minutes later, came back. He told me, "Sir, we're really sorry, but damage caused by mold is specifically not covered under your policy, so we cannot approve your claim." I was pretty peeved, to say the least! I asked him, "So if I told you it was damaged because of water, it would be covered?" His reply, "Yes, it would be. But, since you told me it was damaged by mold, we won't cover it..."

 

And so that's why I would much rather deal with a company like Collect Insure, where I've had to call off their claims process because it was TOO fast and TOO efficient...rather than deal with an insurance company that picks and chooses what they want to cover as they see fit...

[Ronnie]

Dave I don’t want to get in a pissing contest with you but the Insurance Co. didn’t pick and choose what coverage to apply to your loss. You picked. Furthermore why didn’t you know mold wasn’t covered. Did you ever ask? Did the agent not explain to you the coverages with you? Have you ever read your policy? Also a lot of people say that insurance is as good as your agent. Some agents might have said when you mentioned mold.....oh no I don’t want to hear that. Mold isn’t covered but water damage is. You said water damage so we will go with that.

Ronnie