[spmgeaux]

Figure it is about that time I look into insuring my collection. I know I can add a rider on to my homeowner's policy, or take out a separate personal articles policy (actually already have one for wife's jewelry that I could add to). Is that the best thing to do? Or are there specific companies that specialize in this type of thing that would be better? I will probably end up going the Personal Articles route, just wanted some feedback.

My main question is - what to insure it for. I've been told I need appraisals/price guide to show where I got my value for the collection. But also was told they'd only pay out what it would cost to replace it if something happens. So I don't really want to pay for $10,000 worth of coverage if a max of $4,000 is going to pay out. Those that have policies - where do you get your numbers and Jacoby, in your experiences, what is used to determine payout. Thanks for any and all help.

[jacobystealshome]

for me personally, because my inventory is always revolving, i just keep 25k of value insured, and it's just part of my homeowner's policy/renter's insurance

if you have a lot of very high value cards you want to insure, a seperate rider is a good idea. otherwise, just keep them as a line item as part of the general policy

as far as how they are valued: it depends greatly on your insurance company, how lazy their appraisers are, etc

as an appraiser for a VERY high end insurance company: when i do large lots of cards (a few thousand or more), and i can get my hands on the inventory and catalog it (so, not when there is a fire), i will separate anything high end and also set aside full sets, then for the rest, get a general feel for the era then based on what i see take the number of cards and multiply it by a generalized average of the era for semi-star values (unless it just is obviously just commons, with no stars mixed in). vintage gets handled differently, of course

the high end stuff gets valued not at retail value, but rather at beckett high. with my insurance company, the customer pays a bleepload in premiums. if the card is too rare for a beckett high, i do what the Beckett appraisal service basically does: i compare the card to similar cards of the same player, to cards from the same set of different players. in that case, im looking at stuff up for sale - not what has been sold (if they have to replace the card - if they can - it doesnt matter what the market has done, only what they can do with what is on sale at the time)

for smaller collections, i catalog each separate card, and use beckett high

again, i work for a very high end insurance company


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for most folks, i suggest the following: dont keep an individual record of your cards for insurance, but an overall value (beckett high). keep an individual record for yourself. if the insurance company asked for an inventory, give them something generalized: breakdown by sport, ot by year, or by company. only give them an individual list if they push for it hard.

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also, depending on the type of claim, after giving you the money, they might want to try to claim the cards as salvage. in many cases you should throw them away...flood and mold, fire and smoke, etc

but, take this example: lossee had a signed shaq jersey, that did get some water stains from a pipe burst. however, the stains didnt affect the signed area. he claimed the jersey on the report, and they gave him full value, but after seeing the pictures i took, they decided they wanted to salvage the jersey to try to get some money back. he asked me what to do....

so he "threw it away" *hint hint nudge nudge knowwhatimean*

[Vols-1]

I thought about insurance and decided to put the money toward a security system and a better safe. The problem is proving what something is worth since no two items are exactly the same.

[spmgeaux]

Thanks very much for the input guys. I plan on keeping my own detailed inventory but I guess I will turn in more of a range for the insurance company as noted. I don't plan on listing every specific card I have (I don't use org) but for the autos, vintage and top cards I want to have it all well documented. Thanks again

[muz0]

Hey i work for insurance too! (i do commerical umbrella right now but did personal lines in florida) Jacoby nailed it on the head. Me personally, I would only insure the really high end stuff. Some use riders and others "schedule" it onto their homeowners policy or whatever you have. I believe that is one in the same. Basically you would add that onto your policy but depending on the insurance company, I would go the whole 9 yards with it including pictures, pricing using beckett high, and even your own spreadsheet of values and such. Also if your really worries, get a safebox to store your cards in I know thats extreme.. But if I had one of the 24k gold mint cards, thats where i'd put it.