General Forum

I talked to a local card shop owner about this a few years ago and he said the problem with insuring collectibles is that often insurers fight on claims and you have to prove the loss. The items are sometimes small enough that you could just claim it was burned but have no proof. He said you would have to be able to show a half burned Mantle for example. Otherwise they would just try to pay a very low amount.

He said the other issue is it would likely require a full appraisal which can be expensive for large collections and then technically would need to be routinely updated to account for anything sold or acquired. 

Not sure how accurate this info is. I'd be sure to ask a lot of questions before paying to do it just to make sure you know what would happen in the case of a loss.

As I started my collection, we lived next door to, and rented from, an insurance agent. We inquired about insuring my collection as it started to grow, and have some value. Proof of ownership is very difficult, yet required for any claims. Plus, the premium would have been about 10% of the value annually. basically, you'd pay the full value of your collection over again every 10 years. Instead, we took our chances. Seemed to be a steep price to pay. Especially for the work that would be needed to prove what was owned and what it was appraised at. (Basically, everything that came in would need to be 3rd party appraised - which would also have a cost associated with it!)

I forgot to mention the third point the guy said when I inquired about insurance. The worst hurdle is proving quality of specific cards lost. From what I gather you would basically have to have everything graded. 

I believe most insurance policies have minor coverage for collectibles but I think it is a relatively small amount.

Interesting note on the prohibitive cost vroomed. I thought it would be pricey but didn't expect that much.

No tips or info, but I've had my collection insured for years. Really didn't cost too much. It's a rider. I don't actually know all the details, because my smart wife deals with insurance stuff. I sent the guy a full list of every card I own, with my assessment of price. Don't know how much they'd fight if something actually happened.  I know I priced it fairly for replacement value.  

Depending on price and the value of your collection, I'd go for it. 

Don't use the prices on here as your guide, though. ;-)

Kaline6 wrote:

Believe me, a scenario I often think about. Beside fire, and water damage, my other fear is tornado (living in Michigan). I always image 600,000 cards scattered over miles and miles, damaged, wet, and gone. I agree with the person above who says if it happened it would be a sign to stop collecting. Hopefully none of us will ever experience that. On a side note, I am hoping to establish a rough value on my collection and get it insured. From what I understand you can pay to get a rider on your policy for collectibles. Has anyone gone this route, any tips or info? Thanks.

Most of what has been said is fairly accurate, simplest way to put this is this ..... My wife is an insurance broker and says we take the risk as it would break us to insure it. I'm in Canada so things might be different down south.

Anyone ever dealt with Collectibles Insurance Service?  Or other collectible insurance companies?  Just curious.

This is my wife's biggest fear.  She fears that the office in which I keep them is a fire hazard and its in the middle of the hall between our bedroom and the kids.  If I had time, and after the family was out, I would grab a few of the binders on the front shelf that hold my Fleer Greats of the Game sets and the 1999 and 2000 UD 500 Club and 3000 Club GU.  My wife would grab the hard drive with all of our pictures.  However, if there is a fire, just get out.  Our next door neighbores mother had a fire around Christmas two years ago and went back into the house to get some medicine or something and never came back out.  So just make sure all your cards are documented on this site so you have a record for the insurance company and find out what your insurance covers.  If you have any 1/1 cards, make sure you've scanned them here, they can live on that way.  JUST GET OUT!

CluelessJoe is absolutely right, of course. But my big list of stupid ways I might die is still gonna have to include "engulfed by flame while clinging to Tinkers and Evers and Chance, and even Merkle."

Poor, poor Merkle. Now blamed for V3's death...

That is exactly the reason I focus my collecting habit on one binder, 200 cards only. If anything happens. Moving or God forbid a fire, all I have to do is grab my binder.