silverweb Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Insurance for my Comic Collection I signed up today with Collectible Insurance Services. My USAA Homeowner's insurance only provided $2500 of coverage (MAJOR GAP) and referred me to American Collector's Insurance , who was terrible. ACI would only cover about 70% of my top value book, even after I showed them GPA pages. They are too cheap or inefficient to have their own subscription. They wanted to know when I bought my books, from who, pictures, and other stuff. What an ordeal. I figured if it was this difficult to even apply for a policy, it had to be equally bad if you submitted a claim. After having enough, I contacted CollectInsure and boy were they easier to deal with. They just need to specifically know about any items $5000 or over. They cover transportation to and from shows, during shows, shipping as long as you get signature confirmation. No deductibles, just min. $50 claims. I am even covered in case of earthquakes. Joe Bob says check it out https://collectinsure.com/ grube09 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoMan Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 I guess the test of insurance is once you gotta claim. I jumped through the hoops of American Collectable Insurance. It was a hassle. I've got two or four big keys and a bunch of below 1k stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bighairjer Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Very interesting comments on ACI as I've had nothing but a great experience with them. 2 claims in 4 years and both resolved satisfactorily without a hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverweb Posted May 31, 2017 Author Share Posted May 31, 2017 34 minutes ago, bighairjer said: Very interesting comments on ACI as I've had nothing but a great experience with them. 2 claims in 4 years and both resolved satisfactorily without a hassle. That's good to know that they can do something decently. What kind of claims did you have? Any large amounts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bighairjer Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Damage that resulted from shipping with USPS in both cases and yes to large amounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action252Kid Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 5 hours ago, silverweb said: shipping as long as you get signature confirmation. No deductibles, just min. $50 claims. I am even covered in case of earthquakes. Joe Bob says check it out https://collectinsure.com/ I use them too, and they are great. Check the fine print on the shipping though. Not sure how expensive the stuff you would be shipping might be, but the max coverage varies by the shipping carrier -- for me, Priority Mail & UPS maxes out at $2k, FedEx is $5k and then overnight shipments/registered mail is up to $25k. And they'll do one-time riders for amounts over that, but they are definitely easy to work with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvelmaniac Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 I have had my books insured with https://collectinsure.com/?gclid=CJu3heLP8cUCFYuPHwod4kgAww for 7/8 years now. Luckily I have never had to file a claim and hopefully never will. The best insurance in the world is insurance you have but never have to use, if you have to use it something went wrong, so... Here's to all of us never having to file a claim. The Lions Den and oldrover 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jharvey Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 I got American Collectors Insurance, and the only thing they required was pictures of any comics worth more than $2,000. They didn't ask when I bought the comics, or who I bought them from. Overall, it was quite easy to apply for a policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordysnordy Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Wish we had this in Canada piper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroch Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 3 hours ago, Jordysnordy said: Wish we had this in Canada If you had all the convenience of the modern world, it wouldn't be Canada. Jordysnordy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine48 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 1 hour ago, shadroch said: If you had all the convenience of the modern world, it wouldn't be Canada. oh come on now! The Lions Den 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike22 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 (edited) Problem with Collectible Insurance is they do not cover you for water damage. My house flooded destroyed a bunch of my books (worth close to 15K) and only got about 10K back. After I filed the claim, a policy came out that said they will no longer cover you for water damage to your collectibles. Edited May 31, 2017 by Mike22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroch Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Perhaps its only your policy. Mine doesn't exclude water damage. They did ask me where the closest lake or river was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 18 hours ago, shadroch said: If you had all the convenience of the modern world, it wouldn't be Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HouseofComics.Com Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 If your stuff is in a basement it needs to be six inches off the ground to be covered from water damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicwiz Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 (edited) Water damage is one of those complicated conditions that insurers are famous for wiggling their way out of covering. I've been in homes where someone was sent from the insurance company to perform (in my opinion) invasive inspections to determine there was a pre-existing issue and denied the claim. I'm referring to moisture from condensation or humidity, not from sewer back-up or sitting water, and these inspectors removing baseboards to find mold, and saying the problem existed well before the claim was made. I have also seen denied claims over the amount of days it took to report the problem. A couple went away, were absent from their home on vacation, when they returned, they found water in their basement due to their sump pump failing. The insurer denied them coverage because they were away more than 5 days from their home, and in such cases you need to make provisions for someone to house sit your place. 9 out of 10 times, it seems people are covering repairs after water damage out of their pocket, not through their insurance coverage. This isn't a stat so much as it being based on my experience in handling post loss appraisal assignments. While this may be a remedy people feel they need to resort to in order to ensure their premiums don't go up, or a reactive measure from an insurer play hard ball and refusing to cover you based on a technicality, this is not a matter you should overlook in terms of the risk this poses for your collection. Because of the broad range of water related damage that can occur in a home, most homeowners policies are recommending a "water protection" coverage that is meant to be all-encompassing. It might be worth looking into additional water protection coverage if it's offered through your insurer, especially if you have your collection stored in an area known for flooding, or in a spot in your house near plumbing. Edited June 6, 2017 by comicwiz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicwiz Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 On 2017-05-30 at 5:50 PM, silverweb said: They wanted to know when I bought my books, from who, pictures, and other stuff. What an ordeal. I figured if it was this difficult to even apply for a policy, it had to be equally bad if you submitted a claim. It's usually the other way around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spreads Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 On 6/6/2017 at 10:21 AM, comicwiz said: Water damage is one of those complicated conditions that insurers are famous for wiggling their way out of covering. I've been in homes where someone was sent from the insurance company to perform (in my opinion) invasive inspections to determine there was a pre-existing issue and denied the claim. I'm referring to moisture from condensation or humidity, not from sewer back-up or sitting water, and these inspectors removing baseboards to find mold, and saying the problem existed well before the claim was made. I have also seen denied claims over the amount of days it took to report the problem. A couple went away, were absent from their home on vacation, when they returned, they found water in their basement due to their sump pump failing. The insurer denied them coverage because they were away more than 5 days from their home, and in such cases you need to make provisions for someone to house sit your place. 9 out of 10 times, it seems people are covering repairs after water damage out of their pocket, not through their insurance coverage. This isn't a stat so much as it being based on my experience in handling post loss appraisal assignments. While this may be a remedy people feel they need to resort to in order to ensure their premiums don't go up, or a reactive measure from an insurer play hard ball and refusing to cover you based on a technicality, this is not a matter you should overlook in terms of the risk this poses for your collection. Because of the broad range of water related damage that can occur in a home, most homeowners policies are recommending a "water protection" coverage that is meant to be all-encompassing. It might be worth looking into additional water protection coverage if it's offered through your insurer, especially if you have your collection stored in an area known for flooding, or in a spot in your house near plumbing. Are you referring to insurance in general, or comics? I'd be interested in hearing what other Canadians do for insuring comics.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicwiz Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, spreads said: Are you referring to insurance in general, or comics? I'd be interested in hearing what other Canadians do for insuring comics.... Both, and in a Canadian context. In Canada, there is no standalone "collectibles" coverage - it goes under homeowners coverage, and as I was explaining, a flood or water damage scenario will include all property damaged. Your claim hypothetically would include everything damaged in the event - flooring, baseboards, mold remediation, and your collection. If your denied on some technicality, you don't get anything. It's also the case that if your policy is written for actual cash value (which is fine to cover new carpet, floor or baseboards), it will pay you what you have in the comics, not what they are worth in the current market. Meaning, if you bought the collection 10 years prior and paid $5K for it, but it's worth $25K, actual cash value only pays $5K. To get the $25K, you need to make sure the collection is insured with replacement cost coverage. The main word of caution is to make sure you have proper coverages in place, and that there aren't exclusions on the type of water damage, and if there are, you should ask for additional water protection or find an insurer that will provide a more comprehensive policy to better suit your needs. Edited June 7, 2017 by comicwiz porcupine48 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverweb Posted June 8, 2017 Author Share Posted June 8, 2017 On 6/5/2017 at 10:22 PM, HouseofComics.Com said: If your stuff is in a basement it needs to be six inches off the ground to be covered from water damage. Marc, What insurance company has that condition? And if I keep stuff on the second floor of my house? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
