Insurance and your Gaming Collection

[andozane]

So, recently I had a pipe break in my basement Thankfully, other than 3 long boxes of comics, no other items lost, unless of course you include the carpet, padding, and sheetrock! Thankfully my insurance is covering those items...

But this lead me to a question. My insurance adjuster explained to me that I have a $500 deductible, and my comics would not be covered beyond $2500 as they fall under a category of a "Collection".

Now, my comics are not worth anything close to that...but it made me think. If I were to have a fire and say lose all my miniatures...

I've been collecting GW stuff since the Rogue Trader days.

I have no clue the value on my collection. But I know it exceeds $2500. I dare say to replace my entire gaming collection (RPG's, Board Games, GW, etc...) it would cost in excess of $10,000.

I know I'm not alone in this boat...we have expensive hobbies.

Does anyone take out extra insurance for their collections? and if so, is it expensive?

[eldargal]

My brothers and I have insurance on our collections, we do have to pay extra and have it valued and whatnot. No idea how much it costs though, sorry. Other people worry about that sort of thing.

[gwensdad]

A few years ago, a friend of mine had a water leak that ruined his (not really impressive) baseball card collection. The payout for it was "find out how much an equal number of cards costs now by packs, we'll give you that much". It's possible that your insurance company can do much the same if you treat all the minis as "cards" and value them as how much current replacement would be.
Granted, that means sometime soon you have to catalog EVERYTHING just to be ready, then check with your agent about what the most the payout would be.

[lobster-overlord]

Insurance companies deal with a value based on materials and current items "new". Thus a Fantastic Four #1 from 1964 has no more value than a Fantastic Four 604 from this month. Replacement cost, $4, not $40,000.

[url]http://www.collectinsure.com/[/url] is a company that deals with insuring collectibles. You would need a policy like this to cover the replacement value of a collectible at its market value based on it's value as the collectible, not as a blob of plastic or printed pages.

[scadugenga]

Insurance companies deal with a value based on materials and current items "new". Thus a Fantastic Four #1 from 1964 has no more value than a Fantastic Four 604 from this month. Replacement cost, $4, not $40,000.

Incorrect.

As a (sigh) insurance professional--what you need is *proof* of what the value of the collection is. Along with photographic support. Any adjuster who tries to tell you they owe less than either the replacement value of the item (and it's the same item--so they can't replace a rookie Mickey Mantle card with some schlub replacement) or the ACV (actual cash value) of the item is trying to screw you over. If you disagree with the amount, you can hire an appraiser to argue the case in arbitration. Most property adjusters (the ones handling homeowners/renters claims) aren't going to be intimately familiar with weird stuff like comic collections or antique guns. Don't just assume they're right. Do your own research, and read your policy! It amazes me how people enter into a contract (which is what an insurance policy is) without ever reading it.

If the value of the collection/item is over a specific amount, then you need to have a rider or endorsement attached to your renters/homeowners' policy. Same thing you need for basically anything of value over a certain point. (Guns, jewelry, musical instruments, etc.)

If you have something of remarkable worth (Detective Comics #1, for example) you would do best to have a "named/stated value" endorsement or policy for that item. It will usually have a separate deductible.

Scadugenga's caveat: I am not an insurance agent. I *shudder* wouldn't be one if you paid me... If you have questions, be sure to ask your agent to go over them, and point out exactly where in your policy the coverage is, what the amount of coverage is, and what risk you might incur by not having enough coverage to replace/compensate you for those items in the event of a loss occurring.


Edit part the first: Added Lobster's quote and my disagreement w/same.

Edit part the second: If you have items of worth (tons of computer equipment, rare comic books, rare first edition novels, antique guns, etc.) Take photographs of them. Then store said photographs (along with any written notarized appraisals of same) in a safe deposit box so that in the event of a loss, you will be able to support your claim for damages that may not be readily apparent to the adjuster.

[Cyberpunk66]

Yeah, we have expensive hobbies. It is a good idea to catalog everything (to a reasonable degree) and document it. Then if you have a problem you have proof. Plus, you can know for yourself (but, probably shouldn't tell the wife

[Emerald Rose Widow]

Ugh, this remind me I really need to get a policy for homeowners specifically to cover the worth of my instruments and my models, because while I may only just be starting, I will eventually have more worth in mini's than any insurance would likely cover.

Ugh if anything happened to my minis I would be very sad, as it would be a loss to have such pretty things destroyed, and having to paint all those models over again.

[scadugenga]

Em, I'm not one to pimp for insurance companies...but do your research.

The maxim "you get what you pay for" has never been more apropos than when applied to picking an insurance company.

[Lady Fenris]

After having some particularly idiotic neighbors downstairs from me I ended up sprining for renter's insurance. I am still trying to figure out the miniature thing myself. I've always figured worst case scenario, I lay out my miniatures and take photos of them all. If nothing else, I can get Game's Workshop's replacement cost for them.

[Quattro]

The major thing to do is to basically just speak to your insurance provider and second, always take pictures and catalog receipts of any purchases, and keep these records digitally uploaded somewhere on the net, in case you ever loose anything. This policy saved a friend of mine who lost nearly 8000 points worth of Imperial guard a few years ago.