Insurance and keeping records? Anyone do this?

[achab1984]

I am pretty sure that I have it covered under my home owners insurence. I know that I did have something on there like that. I might have to dig the papers out and check it out. I never really thought about this kind of stuff. 

[Thunderwing]

Renters insurance is something anyone who rents should have, period. Even if you put a small dollar value on your possessions -  you NEED to have liability insurance. What happens if you leave a pot on the stove and burn the building down? You are liable.

I've had renters insurance since I lived in a college dorm. My posessions were my clothes and books, so under $10,000.  With two million in liablity.

Post Merge: January 13, 2013, 07:48:34 PM

[Sunshine]

My boyfriend is a financial advocate and works in insurance, he's helping me with getting my collection ready to insure... it's not an easy process but we are adding it to our homeowners insurance. So - that's an option for you homeowners out there

[NovelNerd]

Right now my renters insurance covers mine, but I might need to look into something more. Since mine has moves more towards Nirvanas. I might need a different plan.

[hathorcat]

All this discussion has me thinking!  I'm currently in the long process of dragging my collection out of storage and on display again, and as I do I use Ponydex to catalog everything.  Plus, Ponydex keep a running total of the "worth" of your collection (assuming you entered correct up to date amounts) and after only cataloging about a very small portion of my collection its "worth" over $1200.  I expect when I am done its going to be over $10,000 and have actually been thinking about having it insured.  Does anyone know if Renters Insurance could cover such a collection?  I currently rent and do not have renters insurance but have been meaning to look into so now is as good a time as ever!

Every insurance policy can be a little bit different. Lygeia's information is brilliant and the simplest option is to check with your insurance company. Always explain what you are doing and what you need to insure. Its always best to be open with an insurance company otherwise it is far too easy for them to turn around and claim the policy is invalid due to information not being revealed. Better be completely insured and pay the premium than a lower premium and a policy which doesnt pay out.

[Chi]

We're looking into this right now. My job this week is to write down everything in my collection, it's value and to present the information to the insurance company.

[ashlyne]

Collectibles Insurance Services, LLC    www.collectinsure.com

This is who we use.  My ponies number somewhere around 1500-2000, plus playsets and rare accessories. I keep track more by what I DON'T have, than what I do (it's a shorter list) but I do have photos of most everything.  My husband's toy & collectibles collection is even more extensive and valuable, so we buy this insurance to cover everything. The process wasn't bad at all. They don't want you to specify each item -- just groups of items. So for me, all they needed was a list that went "First generation My Little Ponies with accessories & playsets, Third generation My Little Ponies with accs & playsets, Fourth generation MLP.... etc" and then you add a general value to each section.  For very rare items, you'd list those individually with its value. You can adjust your value up or down at any time, and they'll adjust our montly or annual premium. 

I've never had to make a claim, but my husband has and it was really easy. He broke a couple of collector statues just moving them around from shelf to shelf.  He called them and they gave him an option to either keep the pieces and receive a percentage of the value in the form of a check.  Or he could send in the pieces and get a check to cover the replacement cost.   It was very hassle-free.   

But we haven't ever had to make a huge claim (such as a massive fire).   Do read the fine print on what they DON'T cover, for instance I don't believe they cover water damage or mold damage unless it's under specific conditions.  So if you're storing ponies in a moldy basement, don't expect them to replace them....that kind of thing.   

We talked with an insurance agent about switching home insurances, and he asked us if we had separate insurance on our collections, and asked who we were with.  We told them Collectibles Insurance, and he said "Good. That's actually who I would've recommended. They're highly rated."   

[MLPWhitney]

Thanks for the tip, Ashlyne!

[Henpatch]

Last year when our House and Contents Insurance was due, I spoke to the company about my collections - a) stamps and b) My Little Ponies......( no - the lovely young lady didn't laugh.....she wanted to know how many I had and which ones and so one- she had MLPs as a child too......may have started off another collector!!!)

I had only to roughly estimate my stamps collection (30,00 stamps - $20,00) and my ponies (let's say 1000 ponies at $10 each) (not all that accurate perhaps but a bottom line) and all we had to pay for these 2 collections to be included was $15 extra for the year.

So now our policy for house and contents includes general household stuff and my 2 collections!
Let's face it - if your house burnt down - you could NEVER replace every item - useful, usable or precious....but it is a base line should a  disaster happen.