Insuring your collection...

Collector Freaks Forum

Help Support Collector Freaks Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Tully305

Freaked Out
Joined
Aug 30, 2010
Messages
141
Reaction score
0
Wondered how many folks here have insurance for their collection? I was discussing with my agent for added insurance for my wife's jewelry and my gun collection, but then I started thinking about the value of my statue/figure collection. Do any of you guys insure your collection?
 
My most expensive item is only worth about £500 so regular contents insurance covers it just fine. I just had to make sure I factored in the value of my collection (about £15,000) when calculating the value of assets within the home.
 
I think it depends on the policy. I know for some things you need a separate rider, like coins or jewelry.
 
I got confirmation for mine over the phone and then got them to send written proof that my collection was covered. I'd recommend you try that so that you know your collection is definitely covered and the insurer cant weasel out of paying should the worst happen.

In the UK the separate rider tends to be for items over a set amount, usually about £1000.
 
I got confirmation for mine over the phone and then got them to send written proof that my collection was covered. I'd recommend you try that so that you know your collection is definitely covered and the insurer cant weasel out of paying should the worst happen.
Definitely get it in writing and from the actual insurer, not the agent. I got burned by Allstate on my Corvette as I trusted them and my agent and it ended up costing me at least 20K and 3 years of fighting.
 
Pictures! always take pictures of unique items and collectables. My agent required pictures of my firearms and jewelry for home owners insurance. Anything that might go for considerably more that original value may need a rider.

So if you had that Don Corleone you might need a rider to secure full current sale value , lest you get stuck with original sale value. Very similar to guns.
 
I just insured a portion of my collection. Because I had I much I started with anything very rare or worth 350+.

My home owners did not include collectibles so it is best to check with your agent.

I had to take pictures and include an item description and value. For about $38 per year, close to $15,000 in valuable are covered. I've got a ton more to add to the list but need so much time for taking pics and cataloging everything.
 
Hello

I think I may be of some help in regards to this as I work for an insurance company in claims (please don't hate me). First and foremost you want to check your policy to see if it covers collectibles/what is considered a collectible as well as seeing if any limits apply to collectibles. I would recommend actually sitting with your local agent face to face or at the very least speaking to them over the phone. Most policies (Home Owners & Renters) I imagine would provide some form of coverage but the problem comes with either Limits meaning you are only going to get paid up to a certain amount for the items by category or the item may no longer be manufactured and they will give you the value for what they think is similar and it may not be. One thing you can do is called Scheduled Personal Property and essentially what that means is you get a policy or rider on a particular item or a collection of items and the items are appraised and then if something would happen to them you would get the value that they were appraised for (its a great thing to have if you have an expensive collection, however it can be a lot of work to get the items appraised). I plan on actually starting an insurance related thread and maybe I could do a Q & A (Keep in mind that I work in claims on policies that are already in effect and do not actually sell or make changes to policies, so I encourage everyone to always do their research and have extended conversations with their Agent about coverage. As others have said always get it in writing ALWAYS). Hope this helps?
 
Hello

I think I may be of some help in regards to this as I work for an insurance company in claims (please don't hate me). First and foremost you want to check your policy to see if it covers collectibles/what is considered a collectible as well as seeing if any limits apply to collectibles. I would recommend actually sitting with your local agent face to face or at the very least speaking to them over the phone. Most policies (Home Owners & Renters) I imagine would provide some form of coverage but the problem comes with either Limits meaning you are only going to get paid up to a certain amount for the items by category or the item may no longer be manufactured and they will give you the value for what they think is similar and it may not be. One thing you can do is called Scheduled Personal Property and essentially what that means is you get a policy or rider on a particular item or a collection of items and the items are appraised and then if something would happen to them you would get the value that they were appraised for (its a great thing to have if you have an expensive collection, however it can be a lot of work to get the items appraised). I plan on actually starting an insurance related thread and maybe I could do a Q & A (Keep in mind that I work in claims on policies that are already in effect and do not actually sell or make changes to policies, so I encourage everyone to always do their research and have extended conversations with their Agent about coverage. As others have said always get it in writing ALWAYS). Hope this helps?

Very helpful, thank you! :)
 
Resurrecting this thread to ask if anyone has tried to get their high end items appraised for insurance purposes? Not sure how to find someone or some company that can do this for the really expensive collectibles, e.g. life size Sideshow statues or screen-used props.
 
I’m going to sign up for collectinsure.com.

I was an insurance agent and am pretty familiar with policies. I wouldn’t rely on my homeowners or renters policy personally. I’d go with an insurer who specifically handles collectibles. Similar to classic cars insurer vs non classic insurer.
 
I use collect insure myself it’s actually a great policy. I pay about $75 a year for about 10k coverage. I probably need to double the coverage though lol.
 
Back
Top