Insuring your collection

[Belfast1933]

I’m guessing this subject has been addressed before but thought I would ask experienced N54 members how they have gone about insuring their personal collections.

I took an initial quick run at this but could not find an easy solution from my traditional homeowners insurance.

Thanks for any advice.

Jeff

[roarfrom34]

www.collectinsure.com

[Jobu]

I think many/most people here who have insurance use these guys. They set up at the National and provide excellent customer service. I have never had to make a claim, but others here have reported no issues making them. And it covers your cards when you ship them, so no more needing to buy insurance from the shipper.

Originally Posted by roarfrom34

www.collectinsure.com

[Blunder19]

I also use collect insure... you will want to be careful about adding a safe to the policy.. what that means is you are stating the cards are always in the safe.. should you have a robbery and have any cards out of the safe at that time you would be capped on the coverage because the cards are supposed to always be in your safe when not home..

just something to be aware of...

[cmcclelland]

I had a large claim with collect insure about 4 years ago as a result of a fire at my home. It's a long story, but they denied my claim because of an exception clause in the policy related to "dealer stock." Essentially, if you don't have their "Dealer Policy" and you sell items on ebay or elsewhere, this clause could come into play. My policy with them had been in place for over 10 years, and my ebay selling had evolved over time, but I never considered myself a "dealer." In addition, the "dealer stock" clause specifically states that the exception does not apply if you are selling doubles or excess stock. Also, NONE of the items I was claiming as damaged were the items I had listed on ebay.

Nevertheless, they said my claim was not covered. Fortunately, my homeowners insurer, Chubb, covered my collectibles loss in full (side note - Chubb is amazing and worth the extra premium - I highly recommend them). As a result, I never had to completely go to the mat with collect insure over the claim, which I would have done if Chubb had not bailed them out. I now have a "Dealer Policy" with collect insure in an abundance of caution, which costs twice as much.

It is also important to understand that collect insure is simply the broker for the insurance policy. They are not the actual insurance carrier. Early on, I remember that the insurance carrier they used was Hartford. At some point that must have changed (maybe more than once) because the insurance carrier at the time of my claim was an obscure insurance company I had never heard of, but I was not paying attention. It is also important to understand that the insurance policy can change each year when you renew, and will most certainly change if they use a new carrier. I don't have my original policy from many years ago when I started using collect insure, but I think it is very likely that it did not include the "dealer stock" clause. The bottom line is that collect insure is a broker and their allegiance is to the insurance carrier, not to you. They want the claims experience for this book of business to be as low as possible. They won't fight you on a small claim when a card gets lost in the mail, but when you are dealing with a large claim, I would expect a fight. They will do anything they can to try to avoid paying these large claims.

I've been meaning to research and find a better option, but haven't gotten around to it. If anyone has positive claims experience for a large loss like this with another carrier for collectibles, I would love to know about it.

[ncinin]

https://www.thefia.com/

They have a collectibles insurance division and the owner is a collector and understands the insurance needs for a collector and dealer.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by cmcclelland

They want the claims experience for this book of business to be as low as possible. They won't fight you on a small claim when a card gets lost in the mail, but when you are dealing with a large claim, I would expect a fight. They will do anything they can to try to avoid paying these large claims.

I always assume this is the case with any insurance company. That said, I’m sorry you had to deal with that. As if a fire isn't stressful enough. Glad to hear Chubb came through for you....even though it’s a horrific name for a company

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by cmcclelland

I had a large claim with collect insure about 4 years ago as a result of a fire at my home. It's a long story, but they denied my claim because of an exception clause in the policy related to "dealer stock." Essentially, if you don't have their "Dealer Policy" and you sell items on ebay or elsewhere, this clause could come into play. My policy with them had been in place for over 10 years, and my ebay selling had evolved over time, but I never considered myself a "dealer." In addition, the "dealer stock" clause specifically states that the exception does not apply if you are selling doubles or excess stock. Also, NONE of the items I was claiming as damaged were the items I had listed on ebay.

Nevertheless, they said my claim was not covered. Fortunately, my homeowners insurer, Chubb, covered my collectibles loss in full (side note - Chubb is amazing and worth the extra premium - I highly recommend them). As a result, I never had to completely go to the mat with collect insure over the claim, which I would have done if Chubb had not bailed them out. I now have a "Dealer Policy" with collect insure in an abundance of caution, which costs twice as much.

It is also important to understand that collect insure is simply the broker for the insurance policy. They are not the actual insurance carrier. Early on, I remember that the insurance carrier they used was Hartford. At some point that must have changed (maybe more than once) because the insurance carrier at the time of my claim was an obscure insurance company I had never heard of, but I was not paying attention. It is also important to understand that the insurance policy can change each year when you renew, and will most certainly change if they use a new carrier. I don't have my original policy from many years ago when I started using collect insure, but I think it is very likely that it did not include the "dealer stock" clause. The bottom line is that collect insure is a broker and their allegiance is to the insurance carrier, not to you. They want the claims experience for this book of business to be as low as possible. They won't fight you on a small claim when a card gets lost in the mail, but when you are dealing with a large claim, I would expect a fight. They will do anything they can to try to avoid paying these large claims.

I've been meaning to research and find a better option, but haven't gotten around to it. If anyone has positive claims experience for a large loss like this with another carrier for collectibles, I would love to know about it.

What BS; just because I sell cards doesn't make my collection inventory any more than driving a taxi makes a taxi driver's personal car into a cab. I'd relish a crack at them in court if they pulled something like that on me.

[todeen]

https://americancollectors.com/

I am a USAA member, American Collectors Insurance is the company that they contract with for referrals. I have a $10,000 policy with them. I have collectors car insurance thru them as well, and I had to use that policy with them this summer. They were quick about getting me a check to cover my dings and dents.

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[Belfast1933]

Originally Posted by todeen

https://americancollectors.com/

I am a USAA member, American Collectors Insurance is the company that they contract with for referrals. I have a $10,000 policy with them. I have collectors car insurance thru them as well, and I had to use that policy with them this summer. They were quick about getting me a check to cover my dings and dents.

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Not sure anyone is still following this thread, but since I started it, I thought I’d wrap it up to help others... I just finished a super easy phone call with American Collectors Insurance, answered several questions, got about $32k coverage with $0 deductible for annual premium of under $200.

No requirements to keep cards in a safe, ok that they are on display in the basement in my card-cave to enjoy, and some nice extra features like an auto 8% value increase on any items valued over $2k. I do have to send them an inventory of the higher end cards within 30 days which is something I’ve been meaning to do anyway (but not the thousands of junk cards that we all probably have which are valueless)

Nice to have this done - thought I’d share to help others out.

Good luck and Happy Opening Day, 2021!

Jeff

[dio]

Pwcc vault. Took advantage of the 3 free submission free for life and I'm planning to move out of the country in a few months. Was using collectinsure before

[Peter_Spaeth]

Finkelmeier Insurance Agency, Inc. in Ohio got me a much better rate than anyone else I spoke to. Much better. They're online. Ask for Jodi.

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Finkelmeier Insurance Agency, Inc. in Ohio got me a much better rate than anyone else I spoke to. Much better. They're online. Ask for Jodi.

Jodi is the best!

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[Oscar_Stanage]

I use CIS as well. I got it mainly for submissions, so I do not have to waste time pretending USPS insurance isn't worthless. And so I do not have to tell someone making 10 bucks an hour that I need $5k in insurance.

I have never filed a claim, but from what they told me, keeping my inventory in a spreadsheet and keeping any receipts is good enough proof of value. I take pictures of my submissions, but not sure how a claim will work for raw cards that I do not have receipts for.

any protection from damage/theft is a bonus.

[Tripredacus]

The thing I have, I do not know what the appropriate term is. It is just something I have set up with my insurance company that covers "contents" of a house. I choose that method because it covers various types of things not just the things I collect. I can raise or lower the coverage amount as I please and I do not need to keep a detailed list of assets, although I typically do anyways just because I like that kind of thing.

[Gorditadogg]

Most homeowners are insured under a standard policy called HO-3. Under this policy form, jewelry and collectibles are covered up to $1500. Insurers will typically allow you to increase that coverage to $2500 or $5000.

If your agent can get you more coverage that's great, find out the terms and the cost and then compare it to the other options listed on this thread.


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[rjackson44]

My collection is at my office but most at my beach house..there are two three dogs. Pitbull doberman and the craziest of all our yorkie . Im not worried 🦮