That’s When You Need Insurance for Your Collectibles
It is easy to assume that your collectibles are covered by homeowners ‘or renters’ insurance, but this is not always the case. Often, you only get a fraction of the value of your collection if it is lost or stolen, and sometimes you are not eligible for coverage at all. Here’s a look at what collectible insurance offers, how much it costs and when to get it.
Why traditional homeowner insurance can fail
Homeowner or renter insurance is a great way to protect the monetary value of items in your home as it covers damage from hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, wind, fire, and theft. Unfortunately, these policies do not always cover the estimated value of your collectibles, which can be significantly higher than their monetary value. In addition, a standard policy may have coverage limits for each item from $ 500 to $ 2,000 .
Collectibles insurance, on the other hand, differs in several ways: it can cover the full assessed value for a wider range of natural disasters (such as accidental breakage, flooding and damage by mail); the deductible is zero; and it can be portable, allowing you to make claims outside of your home in certain scenarios, such as if your collectibles get damaged while traveling to a trade show or trade show. All this additional coverage comes at a cost. Most collectibles can be insured for between 1% and 2% of the item’s value per year, according to Investopedia .
When to get collection insurance
Although you do not necessarily need an estimate for the application for a collector’s insurance, you can still evaluate your collectibles to know exactly what they are really valuable ( this post Lifehacker help you in this process). If your collection exceeds the cash value limits for each item set by your landlord or renter, you should consider collective insurance.
After that, your next step is to talk to your homeowner’s insurance company and see what they have to offer. Make sure they understand the nature of your collection, its estimated value, and ask if your current policy will cover theft or damage at its full estimated value. You will also want to confirm what type of damage is covered and if flooding or accidental breakage is included.
At this stage, you can shop too. If you are familiar with other collectors, ask them for recommendations or search the Internet for insurance companies, many of which specialize in this type of coverage. Finally, as with all insurance policies, please read all terms and conditions and fine print carefully before signing.