Insurance vs. Safe? Or both?

[CMIZ5290]

I would love to get opinions on this pertaining collections. Which is the better avenue, keeping in mind that the cards never travel to shows and basically stay put? How much is a state of the art Safe vs. an insurance policy of around $1500 per year? I would really love to hear thoughts on this....thanks

[milkit1]

I'm wondering the same thing. I think i can get a decent safe for around $300 but Im worried about condensation and such. How much are insurance policies usuallly per year?

[CMIZ5290]

I'm wondering the same thing. I think i can get a decent safe for around $300 but Im worried about condensation and such. How much are insurance policies usuallly per year?

Sean- that's a good point...I do to, but all of my cards are graded. Are they protected in the grading cases in the Safe? I would think so....

[Exhibitman]

They serve two different roles. Someone once told me that locks only deter honest people. A safe basically guards against opportunistic sticky fingers and kids. A professional thief will crack your safe--or steal it outright if it can be moved. If you happen to be on the losing end of a robbery you will find yourself opening a safe at gunpoint. The other issue is casualty loss. If your cards are in there during a fire you'll have crispy critters in wet, melted plastic at the end because even the best fire rated safes won't keep the temperatures down enough to not melt the holders and aren't waterproof. Insurance is a financial bet against loss. I prefer far and away to do both: keep the items I really like in a safe deposit box and insure everything, and not worry about the a financial loss on top of the hard work of collecting going down the crapper if catastrophe strikes. I'd be very sad if my collection got stolen or burned up but the proceeds of the insurance would go a long way towards soothing the pain, and you don't get that with a safe.

[conor912]

Go back and search this board. There have been several threads on the subject. However, to give a short answer, your collection up to a certain dollar amount is covered under your homeowners insurance. Call your insurance company and ask them -that's what they are there for. Insuring anything above that amount costs extra - either with them or a supplemental carrier - and runs in the general range of .6 to 1.0% of the declared replacement value (I.e. about $250/year for a $30,000 policy).

[baker85]

I just bought a house and fortunately for me the builder installed a sprinkler system all throughout the house. Not too worried about fire....Just thieves I suppose.

[Texxxx]

If your cards are in there during a fire you'll have crispy critters in wet, melted plastic at the end because even the best fire rated safes won't keep the temperatures down enough to not melt the holders and aren't waterproof.

This is not totally true. They make media safes that do not get over 150deg. inside. They are also water proof. They do cost a lot though. I went this way when I bought a safe. I bought it mainly to protect from fire. I look at my cards as pieces of art and if they burn up then they are gone for ever. Money will not bring them back. They are insured also of course. Should they get stolen I would like to get my money back. They are still out there though and not destroyed.

[Kenny Cole]

Safe deposit box at the bank. Less than $100 a year. Very little issue with thieves breaking in or losing cards to fire or water damage.

[CW]

Sean- that's a good point...I do to, but all of my cards are graded. Are they protected in the grading cases in the Safe? I would think so....

I'm not sure that cards in slabs would be protected from moisture in a fireproof safe. Years ago I had some cards in one of those smaller Sentry fireproof safes, and the fire retardant produced so much moisture within the safe that it caused some of my PSA fips to get moist -- they became a bit warped and wavy. It did not have time to affect the cards that I noticed, but it sure made the flips look weird. At the time, this scared the crap out of me, so going forward I put the stacks of slabs in large ziplock baggies (double bagged), and that seemed to solve the moisture issue.

I don't believe PSA cases are airtight (not sure about SGC, although BGS is bulletproof). I now go the safety deposit box route, and I am considering adding insurance.

[HRBAKER]

Safe deposit box at the bank. Less than $100 a year. Very little issue with thieves breaking in or losing cards to fire or water damage.

Yep, best way to go.

[sdkammeyer]

i mocked up a policy a couple weeks ago with CollectInsure.com (http://www.collectinsure.com/) and it wasn't too bad at all.

Just over $600/yr to insure $125,000 with a travel policy as well. That's with a safe and home security system so i'm sure i got a few dollars off for those brownie points. They also build in a little room for collection expansion every year too.

here's a good thread on net54 about the topic:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=122587&highlight=insurance

both is the way to go in my opinion.

[EvilKing00]

Safe deposit box at the bank. Less than $100 a year. Very little issue with thieves breaking in or losing cards to fire or water damage.

If the SD box gets robbed - there is no bank insurence on it

What about a big dog?

[DavidG1966]

i mocked up a policy a couple weeks ago with CollectInsure.com (http://www.collectinsure.com/) and it wasn't too bad at all.

Just over $600/yr to insure $125,000 with a travel policy as well. That's with a safe and home security system so i'm sure i got a few dollars off for those brownie points. They also build in a little room for collection expansion every year too.

here's a good thread on net54 about the topic:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=122587&highlight=insurance

both is the way to go in my opinion.

I own a 2hr fire rated gun safe for my cards and valuable items and paper. I use collect insure.com as well. Luckily I have never had to make a claim.

From their website:
Broader and more comprehensive than homeowners insurance, the policy provides for most causes of loss unless specifically excluded. Covered causes of loss include but are not limited to:

mail loss
theft
fire
flooding
natural disasters
breakage

[ethicsprof]

my vote is for safes, safe deposit box, insurance, and an alarm system.
with the great grades your cards have, you probably should have these and more.
all the best,
barry

[sdkammeyer]

What about a big dog?

:)

my 3 year old female german shepherd is the first line of defense and is probably worth more (she is trained) than a safe or an alarm .... but having all 3 never hurts :)

[murcerfan]

"A professional thief will crack your safe"


yup...all the thiefs are expert safe crackers once they turn pro these days...i read it on the innnernet

[Exhibitman]

Or steal it outright. I once had two safes stolen out of my condo. Unfortunately for the thieves, they were empty.

I am less worried about a thief cracking a safe than a robber cracking my family's heads to force them to open a safe.

[dabigyankeeman]

I have insurance, its not that expensive really. I want my cards easy to look at and enjoy. If stolen, hopefully i will get enough money to have fun buying my collection all over again!! Not that i want it to be stolen!!!

[g_vezina_c55]

Both

[r2678]

If you buy a safe, get a real one from a safe company, not one of those you can buy at a hardware or office supply store. Also, know where you're going to put. A good safe could weigh upwards to a ton and once it's in position, it ain't movin'.

[T205Guy]

Besides a good fire rated safe you can always add a smaller fire/waterproof safe for your most important cards and place it inside the larger safe for extra protection.