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 Replies: 26 / Views: 10,098 |
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New Member
United States
20 Posts |
After an earthquake, a derecho (look it up-that was crazy), and Hurricane Sandy all happening in the last couple of years (I live in Jersey - though not by the shore), I wonder if anyone has had to make an insurance claim due to damage from some kind of unexpected event (A fire, flood, hurricane etc). I don't have a separate rider/policy for my coins and collectibles, though I've been told by my insurance agent that the "contents" of the house would be reimbursed should damage occur. What would I have to document to make sure I am fairly compensated should the unexpected happen? Should I take photos of each coin along with creating a complete list of my collection (with conditions)? Its not a bad idea to do something like that anyway, but it would be time consuming for sure.
Any ideas?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19945 Posts |
My insurance will not cover them unless specifically insured and independently appraised by a respected dealer. One of the reasons I keep all the good stuff at the bank. And let me tell you, I got the cataloging and appraisal done, then I gave it to the insurance company....they came back and told me I had to list out individually all coins worth more than $200. ARRRGGGG...I was MAD! It was a HUGE hassle to what I had already done and then they drop that bomb on me. I have a TON of coins worth over $200 so I had to get them all together, list them out and get them individually appraised. *(&^$*%^#%^#
BE SURE TO CHECK MORE CLOSELY WITH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY BEFORE YOU START! And get your wallet out, the insurance is expensive.....for me anyway.
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
I know how you feel - I'm just onshore from Atlantic City and went through all the same things you did. It's almost certain that your insurance company is going to want that rider; for high-value individual possessions, that's usually the case. Only you can decide what the level is at which the value of what you lose balances the cost of insuring it; get a rate and find out from them what standard they hold for documentation.
If that's not the course you choose, here's the course of action:
Document individual pieces of real value with still images. If slabbed, get the grade and serial number, more importantly than "gradable" images. If raw, you need to get them sharp enough for grading. You're also going to want videotape of the whole thing in one place, with your voiceover description of individual pieces. This doesn't need to be of gradable quality, although if you can show slabs with serials on video, all the better.
If push comes to shove, that may be enough leverage to win a claim. Consult the specific wording of your policy as it exists in terms of exceptions and upper claim limit, and go from there.
This is a pretty important aspect of numismatics that too few collectors address.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
548 Posts |
Yeah, best thing to do is take a photo of each coin and preferably keep a description of each coin too. I'm lucky my coins are covered by general household insurance so long as their total value doesn't exceed a certain amount.
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Valued Member
United States
78 Posts |
Exactly what BadThad said.
they will REQUIRE you get them indep. appraised (Wow expensive). If you don't do that - they will only reimburse you up to the face value of the coin ($1 for silver eagle is an example). The other kicker is, there is usually a dollar limit on the amount of "cash" you can claim if something were to happen - mine for example is $500 cash or coin (sucks because I have at least that in copper pennies in my garage). I also tried to get silver bullion insured and they would not (or could not) give me a quote because "the price changes frequently". They likend it to trying to get stocks insured.
Edited by Indianaman79
04/18/2013 3:10 pm
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Rest in Peace
United States
4078 Posts |
Insurance! Quote:
This is a pretty important aspect of numismatics that too few collectors address. Thanks SsuperDdave and Badthad and others  great advice! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2661 Posts |
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And get your wallet out, the insurance is expensive.....for me anyway. No kidding! A $50,000 rider costs me $350 a year and the state just approved a 7% increase. I am going to drop the rider for my coins when I renew next month because my dumb self has been paying for insurance for stuff that is mostly stored in a few bank boxes. That is money I could use for fishing bait. |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
All of my more valuable coins are in mylar / cardboard 2x2's
Full description of each coin is written on the 2x2:
When and where bought description of the design if required and notation of the legend if required and catalogue reference numbers.
ALL of the above information is important with ancient coins, but a lot of that is self evident with modern coins.
They are all photographed onto a thumb drive, which is stored separately. All of the more valuable ones are kept in a safe.
IMO insurance is not a viable proposition.
Once upon a time I made an inquiry with an insurance company.
They said that up to $1000 claim could be made on the house contents insurance without any documentation of the collection.
My collection is much more valuable than $1000.
They wanted my collection revalued each year by a recognised valuer, to reflect the changes in the numismatic market and any additions made to my collection in the previous year. Revaluation fees would obviously apply, which would include a callout fee by the valuer, if required. Alternativly, I could take ALL of my collection to them. The premium for the coming year would be calculated.
That just ain't viable for me!
Hence the safe.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
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Yeah, best thing to do is take a photo of each coin and preferably keep a description of each coin too. I'm lucky my coins are covered by general household insurance so long as their total value doesn't exceed a certain amount. Almost funny. For example I have at least 3,000 Mercury dimes. Well over 100 Whitman and Dansco Albums and most are full. Boxes of rolled coins. Taking a photo of each coin would take the rest of my life. Always remember that today everything you tell an insurnce compamy goes into a computerized record. And as with any company, those records may well be open to all employees. This means that almost anyone in that company could khow what you have, where you keep it, who lives in that house and anything else you tell them. With todays computerization of almost everything and anything, your safest insurance is to keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyoneeeeee. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1620 Posts |
I have my insurace through usaa and just pay a few dollars more a month and I just gotta list what I have and pics and if my collection gets bigger then I just upgrade my coverage.
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New Member
 United States
20 Posts |
Good discussion. Thanks. Taking photos and really documenting everything is a good idea for sure. Even for my own records, not just the insurance company. Almost all of my collection was inherited, with no individual piece being too valuable, although it is extensive, so I'll have to decide on cost vs benefit. Plus sentimental value too. @just carl, security is always a concern. One of the first bits of advice I got from a LCS was to keep quiet about your own collection. Good advice for sure. You never know who's listening. I'm sure there are lots of details in the fine print of the policy on what is/is not covered. You make a point worth considering too. I'm definitely going to talk with my insurance agent and see what provisions are in the policy and discuss options and specifics for a rider. About a bank vault, it may be the same or less money than insurance. I'll have to compare. Are they insured? Maybe I'm going overboard a little here, but with bank vaults, I'd be concerned about access (i.e. Cypress closed their banks for a few days - very very very unlikely here, but if Cypress did it...). Security would not be a worry though. Its nice being able to look at the collection at home too. I'd imagine that bank vaults are common ways of securing a collection. Is that a good assumption? |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
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Yeah, best thing to do is take a photo of each coin and preferably keep a description of each coin too. I'm lucky my coins are covered by general household insurance so long as their total value doesn't exceed a certain amount. Just be careful Demarco. While I too have my coins insured through my household policy, they do require any collection (be it jewellery or whatever) to be specified if over a certain value. I believe with my insurers it's £10,000 And if any item exceeds £1000 it must be listed separately. That may not be an issue for you yet .. but after a few more year's collecting .. who knows? I keep decent photographs of all coins, all purchase paperwork, any further relevant information related to individual coins such as provenance plus I had them valued by my local numismatic society. However none of that would be much comfort if they were stolen or went up in a fire as each of my coins (being hammered) is unique. So I couldn't 'just' replace them with a coin of the same date in the same grade. OK, several have been illustrated in publications or auction catalogues which might make identification easier. But I don't have much confidence that the insurers would choose to recognise that there's a difference between a general type of coin listed in Spink and one that was owned by a collector and illustrated by him in 1918. |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
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I'd imagine that bank vaults are common ways of securing a collection. Is that a good assumption? With the understanding that the contents are not insured, yes. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
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I'd imagine that bank vaults are common ways of securing a collection. Is that a good assumption? Unfortunately in the UK most banks are reducing the number of physical branches, preferring people to bank online. And those branches that do exist are generally reducing their safe deposit / vault storage for individuals. The nearest branch with a safe I could use was 20 miles away and is no longer accepting any new items for storage. I believe most dealers have to rely on old fashioned branches in small towns, but in due course even they will need to be refurbished. And outside of London and Birmingham safe storage for things like jewellery hasn't really caught on yet, making options limited unless you are a customer of a premier bank like Coutts. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1795 Posts |
An excellent post Thank You.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
840 Posts |
Thanks for all the posts on this topic!
I am in the midst of insuring my coin collection. Yes, an insurance rider is necessary. With my insurance company, they will insure up to $10,000 USD value in collectible coin with only my cataloging (Excel spreadsheet) and self-appraisal backed-up by the reference guide I used to self-appraise each coin. For coin collection value >$10,000, a formal collection appraisal is required, which would be far too expensive to be worthwhile to me, plus I continue to add coins to my collection so the re-appraisal requirements would be exhausting.
As a result, I will insure my collection for up to $10,000, and the coins will continue to live in my high quality gun safe, which is hidden away from prying eyes.
Next question is, who, besides me, should know the safe combination in case I meet an untimely demise? Answer: my wife. I will also add the safe combo to our last will and testament, which is kept not only inside the safe, but also at the attorney's office my family has historically used.
Happy collecting everyone :)
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Replies: 26 / Views: 10,098 |
Posted 04/18/2013 2:19 pm
