Do you carry insurance on your collection?

scotchleaf

scotchleaf

Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
2,232
I met a gentleman selling collector's insurance at blade this year. Does anyone carry it? Has anyone tried to collect after a loss? What does it cost? Thanks for your help.
 
My collection would have to increase in value significantly before it exceeded the personal belongings limit in our homeowner's insurance. So no, I don't purchase extra insurance.
 
Document your collection and get it on your homeowner's or renter's insurance. You need a pretty valuable collection to warrant collector's insurance, I did some reading on it once and it suggested collector's insurance if your collection exceeds 70% of the value of your house.
 
I haven't done it lately, but pictures need to be taken regardless of the way you insure it. I'm always amazed when I lay stuff out on the carpet for the group shot how much stuff I have accumulated, be it tools, knifes, gear or whatever. I would definitely forget to list some stuff if someone cleaned us out.

Bottom line, I need to grab some sentry tough cloth and rub everything down and take some pictures.

I also then put it all on a HD or USB stick and bring it to the office or file it online in a hidden gallery.
 
My collection insurance is unwritten by a Federal HST policy and added a +P endorsement just for a little extra coverage.Pictures of all my tools have been taken and I had everything appraised professionally.All information and pictures have been stored on a thumb drive and given to a trusted relative to store in a safe location outside my residence.
 
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Double and triple check the homeowner policy. Electronics, collectibles, firearms, jewelry, ect., often have a separate max value in the policy without a rider. I got nailed when my home was broken into. I was under the impression I was gtg if I did not have any single firearm over $2500. I was wrong, that was the total value of the collection.

The insurance agent told me the same applied to any collectible, art, electronics, and so on.

Just double check before you get caught with your drawers down.

It is easy to be flip about "insured by Smith and Wesson" before you get burglarized. After it happens, you realize how vulnerable you really are.

And safes, well, in my case, it just kept all the good stuff together in one convenient spot for them to tote off.
 
redman2006 said:
Double and triple check the homeowner policy. Electronics, collectibles, firearms, jewelry, ect., often have a separate max value in the policy without a rider. I got nailed when my home was broken into. I was under the impression I was gtg if I did not have any single firearm over $2500. I was wrong, that was the total value of the collection.

The insurance agent told me the same applied to any collectible, art, electronics, and so on.

Just double check before you get caught with your drawers down.

It is easy to be flip about "insured by Smith and Wesson" before you get burglarized. After it happens, you realize how vulnerable you really are.

And safes, well, in my case, it just kept all the good stuff together in one convenient spot for them to tote off.
Click to expand...

Rule Of Thumb for buying a safe is make sure it'll be hard for 3-4 people to carry off, and if you can ALWAYS bolt it down.
 
Bob W said:
My collection would have to increase in value significantly before it exceeded the personal belongings limit in our homeowner's insurance. So no, I don't purchase extra insurance.
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^^^Bingo. Even then, you can raise the PB limit on your policy to cover the cost. But hey, people need to make a living, I guess selling knife insurance is just another way to do it.
 
Jastab said:
Rule Of Thumb for buying a safe is make sure it'll be hard for 3-4 people to carry off, and if you can ALWAYS bolt it down.
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Positioning so pry bars can not easily be used is also a consideration. The safe was still there. It was a cheap one, but it was still there.
 
redman2006 said:
It is easy to be flip about "insured by Smith and Wesson" before you get burglarized. After it happens, you realize how vulnerable you really are.
Click to expand...

I just told the truth. I have far more things that should be insured than my knives. It was mentioned above that collectibles should be insured if they exceed 70% of your home's value. I agree if you can afford the tab. For info, I have been burglarized and know what it feels like.
 
redman2006 said:
Double and triple check the homeowner policy. Electronics, collectibles, firearms, jewelry, ect., often have a separate max value in the policy without a rider. I got nailed when my home was broken into. I was under the impression I was gtg if I did not have any single firearm over $2500. I was wrong, that was the total value of the collection.

The insurance agent told me the same applied to any collectible, art, electronics, and so on.

Just double check before you get caught with your drawers down.

It is easy to be flip about "insured by Smith and Wesson" before you get burglarized. After it happens, you realize how vulnerable you really are.

And safes, well, in my case, it just kept all the good stuff together in one convenient spot for them to tote off.
Click to expand...


sorry for your loss, and thanks for the advice
 
redman2006 said:
Double and triple check the homeowner policy. Electronics, collectibles, firearms, jewelry, ect., often have a separate max value in the policy without a rider. I got nailed when my home was broken into. I was under the impression I was gtg if I did not have any single firearm over $2500. I was wrong, that was the total value of the collection.

The insurance agent told me the same applied to any collectible, art, electronics, and so on.

Just double check before you get caught with your drawers down.

It is easy to be flip about "insured by Smith and Wesson" before you get burglarized. After it happens, you realize how vulnerable you really are.

And safes, well, in my case, it just kept all the good stuff together in one convenient spot for them to tote off.
Click to expand...

I second that...... most break-ins occur when there is nobody home. So I don't care how many guns you have in your house to defend it against an intruder.... unless you're home 24 hours a day there's a chance your guns won't do you any good.

My collection has gone upwards the $10,000+ range so I'm actually thinking about buying a safe, hide it somewhere AND have it bolted down.
 
The Logical One said:
I second that...... most break-ins occur when there is nobody home. So I don't care how many guns you have in your house to defend it against an intruder.... unless you're home 24 hours a day there's a chance your guns won't do you any good.
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Got that covered. I work nights. My wife is there the rest of the time with our babies... You actually better pray it's me there instead of her... I might use discretion, maybe, probably not. My wife will shoot you, and she will kill you. She is a damned good shot.
 
Yep, read your policy - check your policy limits for jewelry, guns, coin collections, stamp collections, silver (which includes silverware), bullion, cash....most policies will limit recovery for these items unless they are "scheduled" with a higher limit of liability. If your wife has a big diamond wedding ring...schedule it! I believe in most cases these lower limits apply when loss occurs from theft (but I'd double check that). I never have heard of a "limit of liability" for a knife collection though...as long as your policy limits would cover your collection you should be GTG. Oh, and video tape your property and store the video in a safety deposit box off premises. Won't do you any good if the house burns to the ground. Just make sure you video your property well before a loss - recent videos and catastrophic losses kinda gets the attention of a carrier's SIU Dept...just so ya know.
 
I was the guy that said things like that as well. It was not meant to be a dig.
For me, knives are not a significant expense. I only have a few, and just got my first decent folder.

I apologize if it came off wrong.

Anyway, I just suggest everyone be certain about the policy. My insurance company "grouped" things. It was all legal, and it was my fault for not reading the policy word for word rather than just a summary. By this "grouping" they can put all items associated with firearms in the loss for that category. So your scopes, slings, safe, cases, magazines, etc. are all part of the limit. In my case, for collectibles, firearms, art, jewelry, and electronics; each category was limited to $2500. A couple of nice rifles with scopes will run you right out of that limit.

What I also found in that small print was that ALL collectibles fall in that category. So, if your wife has some figurines, you have some knives, and your kid has some coins and stamps, all are collectibles. All contribute to the total limit of the $2500 classified as collectibles. Maybe all insurance companies do not do this. Mine had a separate exclusion for these categories. It also only covered $150 (or $250, but I can't recall) for any cash kept in the house.

In my case, after the burglary, I put a rider on to cover this a little differently. It was about $50 per year through the company that was already (sort of) insuring the house and contents.
 
jlubas said:
Smith & Wesson won't do to much to insure your collection against a fire, god forbid.
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That is one of my biggest fears. The critters in the house, family, heirlooms that don't have any monetary value.... Give me a burglary or even a robbery any day.
 
I know about fires too.... I am just careful and life moves on. Insure the really important stuff that will allow you to re-start life in a nearly equal fashion should a disaster strike. Beyond that, you can spend a great deal of money buying insurance. The last quote I got exceeded my yearly homeowners insurance... for just "things".

Insurance.... if your knife collection or accumlation means that much to you that a fire or burglary will cause you to want to "end it all", then I suggest you buy the best insurance money can buy. My thought is... you take's your chances and you move on. If I loose all my knives tomorrow, I'll just buy some more. They are just things. The same applies to firearms, art, cameras, cash on hand, jewelry, watches, gold & silver, and other collectables. A burglar better have a fair amount of time at my house or they will be mostly spinning their wheels.

I had a break in while I was home. They would call that a home invasion now, but such terms were not used then. Wife's car was stolen a couple of weeks ago.
 
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