Wildfires, floods, natural disasters and your comics/collectibles 0

[WolverineX]

After hearing an acquaintance lose his house and all of his comics in the Maui wildfires recently and another friend lose his AF 15 in an unexpected flood last year, have you changed the way you stored your collectibles?  Is collectible insurance the best (and only) solution?

Edited August 27, 2023 by WolverineX

[Gaard]

We don't get much of anything here in west Michigan. I heard we had a tornado a few days ago, but I don't believe it. More concerned with thieves than Mother Nature.

[MattTheDuck]

I don't think there's any way for the average collector to absolutely protect a comic collection from these kinds of disasters if they're in your home.  You look at those Maui pictures and blocks of houses have just disappeared. Is there such a thing as a climate-controlled "fireproof room" you could have built that would provide theft protection and might also withstand flood waters and hurricane-force winds?  Possibly, but the cost would be prohibitive for all but the top tier of wealthy collectors I expect.  If you don't own any really high-end books, the cost might be hard to justify given the protection is against unlikely events.

I suspect insurance is the only way, but that doesn't replace the books I have the memories of gathering 50 years ago.

[workingdog]

On 8/27/2023 at 11:20 AM, MattTheDuck said:

I suspect insurance is the only way, but that doesn't replace the books I have the memories of gathering 50 years ago.

+1

Yeah, Collectibles Insurance will cover your collection(s) but MattTheDuck is right, it won't get you back the all the years of treasures and momento's if you've been a long time collector.  I read where some members have their collection under their homeowner's insurance policy.  But I recently read in the Chicago Tribune that insurer's are either dropping clients or substantially raising their annual premiums in states like Florida or California.  The latter especially because God just seems to take his wrath out on that state.

[crazyhips]

I have my long boxes on heavy duty plastic pallets designed for factories that can hold a lot of weight but not absorb water. They are about 6-7 inches high. Saved most of my collection when the house flooded a few years ago.  Only Lost some comics that were in boxes on the floor. I also have them in a place that doesn’t have any pipes of any kind overhead in the ceiling. 

[WolverineX]

On 8/27/2023 at 4:13 PM, crazyhips said:

I have my long boxes on heavy duty plastic pallets designed for factories that can hold a lot of weight but not absorb water. They are about 6-7 inches high. Saved most of my collection when the house flooded a few years ago.  Only Lost some comics that were in boxes on the floor. I also have them in a place that doesn’t have any pipes of any kind overhead in the ceiling. 

Where can I buy these at? 

[crazyhips]

On 8/27/2023 at 6:21 PM, WolverineX said:

Where can I buy these at? 

https://www.uline.com/BL_1417/Solid-Top-Rackable-Pallets

[goblinjareth]

On 8/27/2023 at 12:20 PM, MattTheDuck said:

I don't think there's any way for the average collector to absolutely protect a comic collection from these kinds of disasters if they're in your home.  You look at those Maui pictures and blocks of houses have just disappeared. Is there such a thing as a climate-controlled "fireproof room" you could have built that would provide theft protection and might also withstand flood waters and hurricane-force winds?  Possibly, but the cost would be prohibitive for all but the top tier of wealthy collectors I expect.  If you don't own any really high-end books, the cost might be hard to justify given the protection is against unlikely events.

I suspect insurance is the only way, but that doesn't replace the books I have the memories of gathering 50 years ago.

Also worth noting in the case of major wildfires, they are often burning much hotter and longer than what fireproof safes are meant for - regular house fires. So in they case of CA and Maui, it would not really help, and there's nothing really on the market for it. There's only so much you can do in the end, and it would be far more productive to worry about minor disasters that more likely to affect us as individuals... like waterproofing for burst pipes. At a certain point, it is the same as any other trinket, decoration, or collectable unfortunately, and all you can do is start over with insurance payouts.

[shadroch]

It makes sense to have an emergency plan. If there is room in your car, I'd have one or two short boxes that you can grab for your getaway. Unfortunately, that also makes it easy for a burglar.  I think a good insurance policy is the best protection.

Has anyone had any experience with shipping containers and fire?

[rexinnih]

+1 for insurance. You can go crazy thinking of all the "what if" scenarios such as floods, fires, etc. There is no absolute protection but insurance can help. 

[BA773]

I dont care about that. For me is more important to keep my family in a hot house during the long winter, so each years end I take every comics that I bought during the last months and put them into the furnace 

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

On 8/28/2023 at 11:15 AM, BA773 said:

I dont care about that. For me is more important to keep my family in a hot house during the long winter, so each years end I take every comics that I bought during the last months and put them into the furnace 

I boil mine for ... .. soup.

[BA773]

On 8/28/2023 at 6:12 PM, Tec-Tac-Toe said:

I boil mine for ... .. soup.

Some Marvel titles lack of salt to my taste.