Got a question for the group: Are your figures insured? I was speaking to my rental agent this morning about adjusting my rates when the topic of my many figures came up. Apparently they offer collectables insurance and she offered it to me on the prerequisite that I get them appraised. I'm wondering of course if you all think this is a good idea and if you personally have insurance on your figures? and if so where and were they appraised?
Toy insurance? Not worth it unless you're part of those 1%. Even then I'm not sure things have changed over the years in regards to toy collectibles. But yeah home owners should cover all valuables inside the house. Take pics (which we all do anyway) and keep a copy of your receipts. Finally, don't expect too much.
Depends on the appraised value and how that compares to your standard loss insurance. I don't have collectible insurance, but we have a rider for my wife's jewelry because it's valued at about half (or more) of everything we keep in the house.
Toy insurance? Sounds like a scam. Get HOI or renter's insurance if you're so worried. In fact you should get either one regardless.
It's covered by the household insurance. Don't know if it's the same where you live. I recently made photos of everything I own and uploaded it encrypted to my webspace, so in the case of some accident, robbery or whatever, I have proof what I possessed and that I will get the according money. But I hope that nothing happens. Even if you get the money for the figures, I doubt that you can get everything back the same way you had it before.
It can be covered under a homeowner's policy or renter's policy. How they're covered depends on each insurance company because odds are, the actual contract itself will differ between one company to another in how certain things are covered. When I say contract, I'm not talking about that one page that shows you the coverage limits. I'm talking about that thick packet of paper that houses all the legal jargon on what your policy does for you and how you're covered. But as with any policy, there's usually a clause about the requirement of substantiation of value and proof of ownership when filing a claim. If you don't have the substantiation of value, the claims adjuster can do an internet search for your item to see how much it would cost to replace a specific item and go from there. But that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get top dollar for your stolen item. If it was a house fire, and your home destroyed, you're typically paid whatever the coverage limit is on the policy (subject to your deductible). You can get a collectible/collector type policy, but you want to make sure you ask all the questions about how your items would be covered and if there are any restrictions or exclusions. Sometimes, that specialized policy may not necessarily be a benefit to you. It all boils down to what your specific concerns are for your items, and what risk exposure you would want to be covered for.
Techincally things like "toys" are covered under your homeowners insurance, but how that works is if your house burns down they just give you like $50k to buy new stuff. You won't get anything extra for the toys. That $50k is supposed to buy new clothes, furniture, dishes, your kids toys, etc. You can spend it on whatever you want, technically. If you are burglarized and submit a claim you'll have to prove the value of everything taken. I had 3 guitars and a bunch of CDs stolen in a burglary and I had to show pictures of the guitars in my possession (my band playing), receipts for the newer two, eBay value on the rare one, and all kinds of stuff. If your house burns down and they say "I need an extra $25k to replace all these super rare Japanese toys that cost $150 each but are now worth $400 each because they're not made anymore" they're going to be skeptical, and they might only replace the original retail. If you're worried about it, you should definately get a rider for them, or separate "collectables" insurance. Its not nearly as expensive as you'd think.
(I searched for this and didn't find anything about it, at least not that showed up within recent searches, so hopefully it's not a stale topic) I'm setting up my collection of various toys and other collectibles in a building my wife and I own, in a different location from our house. We are also in the process of switching insurance companies to get coverage for livestock we own. On our previous policy, my collection was supposedly covered under general contents and we'd been told it would be at fair market replacement value. The new company is talking about requiring an appraisal on the collection. It's currently in no condition to be appraised -- pieces are boxed up, boxes are scattered, some pieces need gentle cleaning from sitting and collecting dust for months without being touched -- so an appraisal right now would definitely hurt me. Also, even though the collection is in a different location than the house, the collection would be on the house's policy instead of the second location's for some reason the agent hasn't fully explained yet. He has said that the collection can only be valued at 20% of the total coverage of the contents coverage. I don't believe this is nearly enough coverage for everything I have, and if I continue to collect, it definitely will not be enough at some point. Does anyone have their collection specifically insured? If so, how is it insured, did you have it appraised to get coverage? How do you keep your coverage up to date? I try to make sure I have pictures of everything for visual proof, but what else can I do?
no experience here, but i would alaso suggest asking star wars forum guys for advice, seen enough enquiries there from long time collectors.
Star Wars, the ultimate nerd forums.................... In all honesty start by reading your insurance policy now. Most "real" companies have minor clauses in them for collections under personal belonging, like $2500 or $5000. That applies to most shit from fur coats to baseball cards(depends on company). Pretty much 100% across the board once you go over the 2500-5000$ range, your getting a separate policy or a complete rider on the original policy. Now yours being at a completely different location that yourself will probably raise your cost on it as well.
Thanks, guys. Not a Star Wars guy, so didn't even think about that. I'll seek some out to see what they say.
There's a recent discussion in the TF TOY Discussion forum, will move this thread there, and merge. Insurance? Merged
Ah, thanks, I only searched in General, since it didn't seem "Toy related" like I think of the toy forum.
See also: Beyond Basics: - Insuring and Protecting Your Collection I may need to update that just a bit, but I think much of the information is still on point.
I have always had a separate clause for my collection. A respectable insurance company will let you rate them however you please, no appraisal needed. I currently have $30,000 of guaranteed coverage for my collection. You'll pay extra (obviously) but an appraisal would only cover msrp value of the figures, not what it would actually cost for you to replace them. Once you take into account tracking down figures that are no longer in production, shipping, your time, etc, you'll see that you are better off setting your own coverage where you see fit.
I'm currently going through this with my insurance company due to the wildfire last May in Alberta Canada. Check into your policy, some people claim that they are toys and will be covered but that's not always the case. When I signed up for scotia life house insurance they were informed I had around $100k in transformers and they gave us an additional $100k on our contents insurance. What the uninformed rep did not know is that they only cover up to $2000 for collectibles (yes even though they are children's toys they are collectibles) $1500 for jewelry and $500 for currency/stamps. So when it came time for my claim they offered me $2000 and tried to tell me to pound sand, after telling them they made a mistake and they would be hearing from my lawyer they pulled the tapes of when I signed up and found they made a mistake. I've been dealing with my claim for 9 months now and don't really have any resolution yet, my insurance company brought in a third party to try and evaluate my collection, currently they are trying to find a way to put values to the hard to find items such as luckydraws hardcopys prototypes and such. According to them eBay is not an option for pricing these items and they need to find all of this stuff in a store and if they can't find the same item they will go with a close item for the value. I can't stress it enough but make sure you go over your policy very carefully and find out what exactly is covered and don't assume it will be taken care of by your contents insurance. If I can answer any questions please let me know
Wow, that sucks that you're going through that and it's exactly what I don't want to have to deal with if something were to happen.
