General Forum

I want to insure my collection.  I keep putting it off.  Does anyone have any advice on companies or appraisals or mistakes to avoid or anythig..?

Thank you in advance.

Not at all worth the money or the hassle! To get insurance on a card collection, you first need a book or sell value of every single card you own. Then you need to maintain that info as you buy, sell and trade cards and update the insurance agent at least once a month. And then... and then again... etc...

It never ends and you'll spend more than your collection will ever be worth unless something drastic happens to it in the first 5-10 years of insurance. The best option for having cards insured is to have a set value amount covered in your renter's insurance or homeowners insurance. Even then, you have to prove that you have the value that you want to cover initially. As your collection grows, you'd still have to update the value and that would increase your premium every time you do. It just really isn't worth it to do so unless your collection is worth 100's of thousands of dollars.

I have an appropriate my sized policy as a rider on my homeowners insurance.  The peace of mind for having some coverage if something happened is worth the premium for me.  I agree that keeping an accurate inventory would be a hassle.  For me, I maintain an inventory of items that I would want to replace if something happened, so not everything I have is on it. 

Talk to your homeowners insurance agent. I did and this what was explained to me:

If your collection is in your home, it is covered as part of the contents of your home as a part of your standard homeowners insurance policy. If it is kept outside your home or likely to be damaged or lost by something not part of your home, get a separate coverage rider. 

Think about the risk to your collection. Where do you keep it? Is it in a basement that is prone to flooding? Is it kept under pipes that are prone to breaking? How could it be damaged? It is most likely to be damaged as part of some other disaster like fire or flood, so make sure your home (and contents) are included in that risk. Flood insurance might not be available to you and sewage backup insurance is hard to come by. Know if your basement is below the water table and do not keep valuable items (collection or otherwise) on the floor if it is.

Biggest thing you can do for yourself is to inventory everything you have. Hello, that is what this site is for! Put all your cards that you own into this site and maintain an accurate inventory. Take some pictures of your collection, especially the most expensive ones, in your home to show proof of ownership.

If you rent, it is completely different. You will want to talk with your insurance agent again, but your renters insurance covers only contents. Again, inventory your collection and take pictures, but you will want to have a more accurate appraisal of the value. 

Remember to discuss replacement value of not only your collection, but all of your insurable items. Some things depreciate in value over time (autos, standard furniture-not antiques, clothing, etc). Your cards, money or jewelry likely will appreciate over time. We have a rider on my wife's jewelry because it is more likely to be damaged or lost outside our home where our homeowners policy would not cover it.

Bottom line, everyone's situation is different, so speak to your insurance company. Inventory your entire collection and take pictures. 

Extremely helpful!  Thanks guys.

Just echoing. My collection is listed separately as a valuable in my home owner's insurance policy. I send my spreadsheet to the insurance guy every few years and update the value every few years. It'd be nice to have the money, but starting over after a disaster would be devastating...

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The two big advantages of Collector's Insurance over homeowners insurance are:

1. Most homeowners policies have a total payout limit for contents and may have a smaller coverage amount for collectibles (check with your agent for details on your policy). 

2. As someone above said, it covers cards while in your home...where collector's insurance tends to cover items during shipment, when on display somewhere outside the home, or in a storage unit (for an additinoal fee). 

I recently bought collector's insurance from Collect Insure. $34,000 worth of coverage cost $225 annually. 

Do you have to deal with hassles updating your collection or anything?  Were there other companies you considered?

As an insurance agent. I echo talk to your insruance agent. My company does not include the value of my cards in my renters policy so I have a rider for both my cards and guns. Make sure you can add one on your homeowners or renters insurance. Also keeping your collection updated on here can really help you in the case of a accident. Hope this helps.

I think whether you go with homeowners or a 3rd party, the documentation requirements are the same...you need to have a record of what you have...either a spreadsheet, photos, video, etc. I already have most of my collection fairly well documented, and this will motivate me to finish the job. 

I asked around on another forum I visit, and 90% of the people who replied said good things about Collect Insure...that was good enough for me!