Do You Have Your Collections Insured?

[sqidd]

My homeowners wouldn't cover me so they sent me to Collectibles Insurance Services. I did a quick Google search and aside from the few people that were complaining about their policy not covering something that any rational person would know is not covered I couldn't find anything negative about them. They want $100/yr to insure $15K in collectibles. Which seems reasonable.

Wondering what your experiences are.

Thanks

[mikeszekely]

Youtube personality Bobby Skullface did a video about this.  You might find it informative.  Or not.  I didn't watch it myself.

$100 a year doesn't sound too bad, I guess.  But I don't know, I guess it's not just a money thing.  I mean, part of the reason you have homeowners insurance or car insurance is so that if something happens to you'll have money to replace your stuff.  But, especially since a lot of my collection is 3P Transformers stuff that had smaller runs, even if I got money from an insurance company I wouldn't be able to replace a lot of what's in my collection.  So I've just never bothered.

[sqidd]

7 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Youtube personality Bobby Skullface did a video about this.  You might find it informative.  Or not.  I didn't watch it myself.

$100 a year doesn't sound too bad, I guess.  But I don't know, I guess it's not just a money thing.  I mean, part of the reason you have homeowners insurance or car insurance is so that if something happens to you'll have money to replace your stuff.  But, especially since a lot of my collection is 3P Transformers stuff that had smaller runs, even if I got money from an insurance company I wouldn't be able to replace a lot of what's in my collection.  So I've just never bothered.

So, because they would only give you some you chose to go with none?

You can get set up to get replacement value. That of course doesn't do you any good of there are zero available for sale. But how often is that?

 

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

No insurance on my toys. I love 'em and I have a sh!t tonne of them, but if it all ever goes up in smoke, it's a loss of luxury I can live with.  I just cannot see myself spending more time trying to replace every single valk, Transformer, and anime figure/statue after such a disaster.

[mikeszekely]

22 minutes ago, sqidd said:

So, because they would only give you some you chose to go with none?

You can get set up to get replacement value. That of course doesn't do you any good of there are zero available for sale. But how often is that?

 

Just an offhand guess, but I'd say less than half of my collection could still be found at retail.  Even some stuff that was released this year, like Fans Toys' Roadking (a third-party Masterpiece-style Motormaster), is already super hard to find.  So no, once most of this stuff is gone, it's gone forever.

But that's me (and maybe @Valkyrie Hunter D), and I'm not saying that you shouldn't get insurance just because I haven't bothered.  Maybe your stuff is more readily available to replace, or was more likely to go up in value.  Or you live somewhere where the likelihood of losing your collection to crime or some sort of natural disaster is higher than where I live.

[tekering]

57 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

So no, once most of this stuff is gone, it's gone forever.

Not in this day-and-age, man!  Anything can be found and reacquired on the secondary market, with enough patience and capital.

1 hour ago, sqidd said:

They want $100/yr to insure $15K in collectibles. Which seems reasonable.

$15K doesn't begin to cover the value of my collection.  Is there a reasonable option for the über-collector...?  

[mikeszekely]

49 minutes ago, tekering said:

Not in this day-and-age, man!  Anything can be found and reacquired on the secondary market, with enough patience and capital.

Either that's just not true, or I'm not patient enough. I've been searching for a copy of Fansproject's Pinchar for weeks. Even let it be known in a few places that I'm willing to pay over retail. Had a couple people offer me the black convention version, but I can't find a normal red one to save my life.

[sqidd]

5 hours ago, tekering said:

Not in this day-and-age, man!  Anything can be found and reacquired on the secondary market, with enough patience and capital.

$15K doesn't begin to cover the value of my collection.  Is there a reasonable option for the über-collector...?  

Exactly, anything can be purchased for the right amount of money. If your insured for replacement value, well, the insurance company gets to pay to buy you stuff even if it's ridiculous money. And if you literally can't find one for sale, or one can't be coaxed out of someone not actively selling, you at least have the $$$$$ in your bank account.

I just got back into this after selling my old collection 10ish years ago. My re-collecting first buy was 8/18/19. Give me a few minutes, I may reach uber collector status some day.

The company that I checked with (linked above) bases their premium on the value of the collection? Is it a linear scale? I don't know. I imagine they will insure you for whatever amount you desire. The premium will be adjusted of course. 

If I had a $100K collection there is NO WAY that I wouldn't insure it. That is just too big of a hit to take if something goes sideways.

[M'Kyuun]

I watched Bobby's vid concerning insurance, and he gives some useful info. He has a large and rather valuable collection of stuff, and he seems to have the disposable income requisite both for his collection and the insurance to pay for it.

My toy collection is rather eclectic, the vast majority of which is LEGO. But, I also have hundreds of Transformers across just about every major line since the 80's, as well as about 20 or so third party figs, somewhere around 30 Macross figs from early Yamato to present Arcadia and Bandai, as well as a few Toynami RT offerings (I regret the VF-1 purchases, but I still have the blue Legioss on my desk-I love the sculpt, but as a toy, it's crap),  lots of Star Wars figs, the large AT-AT, and the fully articulated AT-ST, and just a bunch of other miscellaneous toys across a variety of lines/franchises.  By far, though, I'd say my LEGO collection would command the lion's share of my collection's value, and putting a value on stuff like that or something like third party Transformers is largely subjective, and unless the insurer really knows their stuff, I'd be afraid of getting egregiously lowballed should disaster ever leave me bereft.

Like Mike, I have no collection insurance, although I'm given to consider it from time to time. I doubt the cost/benefit ratio would be in my favor.

As to the question of replacing a lost collection, I suppose just about anything can be replaced with enough patience and money, but would an insurer look at the cost of replacement within the context of secondary market sources in figuring the value? I don't have a list of LEGO sets I own, but they would easily number in the thousands, not to mention all the minifigs, individual parts I've bought from Bricklink or other sources. And then there are limited edition Bricktober sets from TRU over the years, and other exclusives. In short, I think it'd be nigh impossible to restore my collection to completeness, even with a 2-300K insurance payout, and certainly not all in the same condition. The vast majority of my collection is sets which I build and then break down enough to put back in their boxes and store, or sets which I buy for parts. Most are near mint, and some are still MISB. Needless to say, it's an expensive collection, and I doubt that I'd ever receive an adequate payout to cover complete recovery without also investing large sums of money in the insurance. Add to that my Transformers, Macross, and other stuff, and the cost of collection insurance would likely eclipse my mortgage. And so, I leave my collection to the Fates.

[Mog]

Since a significant chunk of my collections are customs, I wonder how they would value them.

Would their replacement value be equal to the number of figures I purchased to make the single custom figure?  I mean there’s one custom I made from parts of at least 8 figures.

Or in Valk terms, I have one custom with a ton of custom stickers I purchased.  However, the guy that made the stickers utilized a printer that’s been discontinued for years now, and the ink and other supplies for that specific printer are virtually impossible to find now.  How would they value that?

I could see myself being that guy that gives an appraiser a massive headache.

[Sanity is Optional]

I need to set up a policy, less for my collection (which is covered under my homeowner's insurance) and more for my small number of firearms which are not.

It's weird, I can have $60k of coverage which will cover all my macross figures, but a single rifle goes above the maximum my policy will cover for guns.

[jvmacross]

There is no insurance that would ever help you recover "one of a kind"...

So enjoy what you have...while you have it.....and in case you had any doubts, you still can't take it with you! 

[sqidd]

6 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I watched Bobby's vid concerning insurance, and he gives some useful info. He has a large and rather valuable collection of stuff, and he seems to have the disposable income requisite both for his collection and the insurance to pay for it.

My toy collection is rather eclectic, the vast majority of which is LEGO. But, I also have hundreds of Transformers across just about every major line since the 80's, as well as about 20 or so third party figs, somewhere around 30 Macross figs from early Yamato to present Arcadia and Bandai, as well as a few Toynami RT offerings (I regret the VF-1 purchases, but I still have the blue Legioss on my desk-I love the sculpt, but as a toy, it's crap),  lots of Star Wars figs, the large AT-AT, and the fully articulated AT-ST, and just a bunch of other miscellaneous toys across a variety of lines/franchises.  By far, though, I'd say my LEGO collection would command the lion's share of my collection's value, and putting a value on stuff like that or something like third party Transformers is largely subjective, and unless the insurer really knows their stuff, I'd be afraid of getting egregiously lowballed should disaster ever leave me bereft.

Like Mike, I have no collection insurance, although I'm given to consider it from time to time. I doubt the cost/benefit ratio would be in my favor.

As to the question of replacing a lost collection, I suppose just about anything can be replaced with enough patience and money, but would an insurer look at the cost of replacement within the context of secondary market sources in figuring the value? I don't have a list of LEGO sets I own, but they would easily number in the thousands, not to mention all the minifigs, individual parts I've bought from Bricklink or other sources. And then there are limited edition Bricktober sets from TRU over the years, and other exclusives. In short, I think it'd be nigh impossible to restore my collection to completeness, even with a 2-300K insurance payout, and certainly not all in the same condition. The vast majority of my collection is sets which I build and then break down enough to put back in their boxes and store, or sets which I buy for parts. Most are near mint, and some are still MISB. Needless to say, it's an expensive collection, and I doubt that I'd ever receive an adequate payout to cover complete recovery without also investing large sums of money in the insurance. Add to that my Transformers, Macross, and other stuff, and the cost of collection insurance would likely eclipse my mortgage. And so, I leave my collection to the Fates.

I'm going to need to see some pics of this sweet Lego collection. Holy smokes!

[sqidd]

5 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I need to set up a policy, less for my collection (which is covered under my homeowner's insurance) and more for my small number of firearms which are not.

It's weird, I can have $60k of coverage which will cover all my macross figures, but a single rifle goes above the maximum my policy will cover for guns.

Mine is the opposite. All I have to do is list all the firearms I have with serial numbers and pictures so far everything is covered by my homeowners up to.........a pile of money. No amount of money could get me collection insurance through my underwriter.

The thing that is worrying me about this agency that will cover my collection is that they don't require invoices, pictures, lists, etc. That seems a bit too "shoot from the hip".

[sqidd]

3 hours ago, jvmacross said:

.and in case you had any doubts, you still can't take it with you! 

I'm totally taking it with me!

[Sanity is Optional]

10 minutes ago, sqidd said:

Mine is the opposite. All I have to do is list all the firearms I have with serial numbers and pictures so far everything is covered by my homeowners up to.........a pile of money. No amount of money could get me collection insurance through my underwriter.

The thing that is worrying me about this agency that will cover my collection is that they don't require invoices, pictures, lists, etc. That seems a bit too "shoot from the hip".

Yeah, mine is max $1500 on firearms, but everything else falls under the general coverage.

When I called to talk to them they requested anything really valuable be appraised. Macross stuff just isn't expensive enough that it seeds to be.

When you file a claim later on, they might want supporting evidence (I keep pictures, and all my invoices are in my email) to justify an amount. Nothing I have is worth more than $1k though on the figure side, so not too worried about them balking when I can point to ebay listings.

Edited September 5, 2019 by Sanity is Optional

[jvmacross]

5 hours ago, sqidd said:

I'm totally taking it with me!

Hopefully in ashes along with your remains...otherwise, watch out for grave-robbers! 

[sqidd]

4 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

Hopefully in ashes along with your remains...otherwise, watch out for grave-robbers! 

I'm getting sealed in Carbonite. I have a guy.

 

[jvmacross]

3 minutes ago, sqidd said:

I'm getting sealed in Carbonite. I have a guy.

 

great, easier to transport onto "cargo holds" and deliver to the highest bidder!!!

[sqidd]

4 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

great, easier to transport onto "cargo holds" and deliver to the highest bidder!!!

I'm all about convenience.

[JB0]

1 hour ago, sqidd said:

I'm getting sealed in Carbonite. I have a guy.

 

Your toys should be very well-protected. If they survive the freezing process, that is.