Comic Book/Collectibles Insurance

[unmovedmover]

My home owners said that I could get an extra rider, but that I would need to get them appraised. Maybe I could hire pirate

 

[Nico Esq]

As an attorney who battles insurance companies who delay, deny and defend valid claims - please consult http://www.policyholdersofamerica.org/ before making decisions about insurance. If you have any questions that I may be able to answer, just PM me. Insurance laws are different in each State. Some of the conclusions people have made about what would or wouldn't be covered under a policy in this thread are not true under the law of my home State, but if you have a loss you should contact an attorney who concentrates their practice in insurance claims handling practices and/or insurance bad faith. I'm probably not licensed in your State and won't be able to provide you a legal opinion, but I may be able to point you in the right direction.

[RedBeanNinja-migration]

This thread has gotten me to seriously consider insuring my collectibles (sportscards/comics). Based on the quote I received from CIA's website, it seems like a no-brainer (< $150).

 

I am curious, has anything filed a claim with them and what was your experience? TIA.

[Wayne Enterprises]

I started this thread due to another board members house being burglarized. Hopefully this thread gets all of us to make a smart decision and insure the things that matters to us. Thanks for everyone's input!

[wolf_2099]

This thread has gotten me to seriously consider insuring my collectibles (sportscards/comics). Based on the quote I received from CIA's website, it seems like a no-brainer (< $150).

 

I am curious, has anything filed a claim with them and what was your experience? TIA.

 

I have for basement flooding off minor damage and was told they were not insured.

Any collection worth any value has to have an addition added to home insurance, depending of the company, country, state, etc.

 

I ended up having to catalogue and provide a list of all my comic merchandise, statues, comics, OA, etc for the company, and then inform them of any major additions for the insurance.

 

Costs about an extra $200 a year, varying on the collections worth.

I found this out when a friend of the family had to do it for their wine collection.

 

I am located in Canada, so I assume it is different in the states, but definatly phone your insurance provider and ask, and look at your policy.

**MAKE SURE IT COVERS FLOODING** The rider we had didn't automatically include flooding, it was a very shady loophole for them.

[Wayne Enterprises]

When determining the worth of your comics do you base of it of last sale or do you say "well this comic should be worth this amount in the near future" and give them that number!?

[Trev]

When determining the worth of your comics do you base of it of last sale or do you say "well this comic should be worth this amount in the near future" and give them that number!?

 

I base it on current value. I believe it is a replacement cost type of policy rather than what you insured them for at the time. You are buying enough coverage to cover any loss and the max would be what was paid for a catastrophic loss.

 

at least that's the approach I take.

[cavecarson]

I believe it is easy to get collections insured, the problems arise when you file a claim. I was told that to collect on a claim I would need to be able to substantiate the value. An appraisal was not sufficient they would require copies of actual invoices covering the specific items lost/stolen/damaged. I do not have invoices for my collection.

[comicdonna]

This thread has gotten me to seriously consider insuring my collectibles (sportscards/comics). Based on the quote I received from CIA's website, it seems like a no-brainer (< $150).

 

I am curious, has anything filed a claim with them and what was your experience? TIA.

 

I have for basement flooding off minor damage and was told they were not insured.

Any collection worth any value has to have an addition added to home insurance, depending of the company, country, state, etc.

 

I ended up having to catalogue and provide a list of all my comic merchandise, statues, comics, OA, etc for the company, and then inform them of any major additions for the insurance.

 

Costs about an extra $200 a year, varying on the collections worth.

I found this out when a friend of the family had to do it for their wine collection.

 

I am located in Canada, so I assume it is different in the states, but definatly phone your insurance provider and ask, and look at your policy.

**MAKE SURE IT COVERS FLOODING** The rider we had didn't automatically include flooding, it was a very shady loophole for them.

You made a claim with Collectible Insurance Services for flooding, and they didn't cover it? I just read my policy twice. The only thing mentioned is, they won't pay for damage caused by dampness or dryness of the atmosphere. Nothing else is mentioned about water damage. I think I will call them this week.

[shadroch]

I seem to recall something from their application about not covering items stored in basements, or charging a premium for it.

Homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage. You need seperate Flood insurance.

[wolf_2099]

You made a claim with Collectible Insurance Services for flooding, and they didn't cover it? I just read my policy twice. The only thing mentioned is, they won't pay for damage caused by dampness or dryness of the atmosphere. Nothing else is mentioned about water damage. I think I will call them this week.

 

Mine was done under our home insurance, not CIS.

 

Shadrock was correct, as well. It cost more for flood insurance, and the fact they are stored in a basement. If you don't clearly ask you may get screwed.

 

It was also insured as a replacement value, not purchase value. There is a ceiling on the replacement value, though.

[comicdonna]

You made a claim with Collectible Insurance Services for flooding, and they didn't cover it? I just read my policy twice. The only thing mentioned is, they won't pay for damage caused by dampness or dryness of the atmosphere. Nothing else is mentioned about water damage. I think I will call them this week.

 

Mine was done under our home insurance, not CIS.

 

Shadrock was correct, as well. It cost more for flood insurance, and the fact they are stored in a basement. If you don't clearly ask you may get screwed.

 

It was also insured as a replacement value, not purchase value. There is a ceiling on the replacement value, though.

Many homeowners insurance policies don't pay much for comics. I had a premium policy with Allstate. They were great on everything except comics. They had a 1K limit on comics.

 

I have yet to hear of any boardies that filed a claim with Collect Insure.

[Underground44]

I believe it is easy to get collections insured, the problems arise when you file a claim. I was told that to collect on a claim I would need to be able to substantiate the value. An appraisal was not sufficient they would require copies of actual invoices covering the specific items lost/stolen/damaged. I do not have invoices for my collection.

 

How do you put a value on a one-off signature? The actual value of the book including getting it subbed might be 30 bucks but the book might be worth 10 times that with a sig.

[Trev]

I was just reviewing the application for CIA. They say in it you need to keep records. Inventory, pics, sales receipts, etc.

 

The good news is I scan just about every new purchase of consequence these days and post it here in some thread.

 

I keep all my valuable books in comicbase and then back up my images and db offsite using carbonite.

[Racer-X]

I also have USAA for car insurance but wasn't sure if I should go through them, figure it'd be best to ask here.

I have always felt it's best to deal with companies that specialize in the service you need.

 

USAA's affiliate collectible's insurance company does specialize in collectibles.

 

Re: homewoner's insurance, some major insurance's company's homeowner's insurance (e.g., Geico) would insure collectibles. However, it's wrapped into the personal property coverage, which has a limit, and may not be enough for some. For instance, with Geico, if your house is valued at 300K total loss due to, say, fire, your cap personal property is 250K (75%). So if your collection is valued at 150K, and everything goes up, is 100K enough to cover everything else? If not, you may need supplemental insurance... That was my situation...

[Wayne Enterprises]

I just recently started keeping my receipts. But how do you prove the value of a comic that was sent to CGC? Most of the writing on my CGC receipts are faded. So going through CIA sounds like a better choice than USAA or any other home owners insurance for your collectibles.

[Bomber-Bob]

A real easy and fun way to document your CGC collection.... the CGC registry !!!

[Silent Master]

USAA refused to insure my comics. They would insure art, glassware, stamps... but not comics.

 

I went with Collect Insure, I hope to never find out if they take care of me!!!

 

In fairness USAA insurance rocks! I have life, auto, home, and some misc and they have always been rapid and fair when I filed a claim!

[spidrvacc]

As I said I used to have Collect Insure a few years ago but I always found it strange that they basically didn't want any proof. They asked me for a rough estimate and They told me to keep a detailed list and any receipts. As I mentioned earlier I sent them a list of what I had and condition and a disc with scanned photos of all 1,000 books.

 

I guess I am saying how can I really prove (or prevent them from saying no) what I have if they don't get a detailed list. I could say I had 3 AF15's (If say I had insurance for $20K) Or do they ask for a detailed list now adays. I am going back 5-7 years ago.

[comicdonna]

A real easy and fun way to document your CGC collection.... the CGC registry !!!

This is how I do it. I mentioned that on my application. I do not have 1 reciept. I have the above 5K books listed with them. When I renew next month, I am going to give them a value on the rest of the books just in case there's ever a claim. I figue if there's a problem with the value, we can get that straightened out now.

 

If your a CBCA member, you get 5% off your first years premium. Be sure to tell them that otherwise, it might not get applied.