Comic Book Insurance Policies

[spidrvacc]

Very interesting item in there FAQ section ,. I dont remember this before. Needeing documentation for some of your purchased.back in the day they told me just an itemized list is needed. No proof of purchase. Now they need a sampling of proff of purchase .

 

How do you know I own the comic or animation art items I claim are lost?

 

A. Yes, it is your responsibility to prove your loss. We have found that if you acquired some of your comic or animation art items from dealers, the Internet, auction houses or similar sources you can provide proof of a reasonable sample of your purchases. A sample is what we require, not complete documentation of every comic or animation art purchase or acquisition . Probably our biggest advantage over other insurance providers is that since we have over 35 years experience in this specialized business, we have a good sense when additional documentation is needed to prove a loss.

[CentaurMan]

I had back in the day called the St Paiuls company and there policys were alot higher than CIA ( I cant remember but they were really high)

 

I think I know why St. Paul's rates are so much higher: Because they actually would be able to absorb a large number of claims and pay them without going under. Everything I hear about CIA implies to me that from an actuarial standpoint they aren't pricing their policies correctly, and if a few people put forth some large claims simultaneously I bet they'd be in trouble.

 

Think about how little you pay to CIA relative to how broad their coverage is ("we'll pay if your item is inexplicably lost, don't worry about it")....think about how much you pay for other types of insurance....it's not logical.

[maxstuf]

I had CIA as my carrier but changed after I sold my store. Now I have my Home Autos and comics/business insurance at American Family.

 

1 Bill, everything covered, no hassles...., yet

[FFB]

Update: I was promised a revised copy of my updated policy 3 weeks ago and still have yet to receive it. Also, my credit card has still not been charged for the requested increase in coverage. WTF is going on over there? It used to be so easy to deal with CIA and lately things have been anything but smooth.

 

YET ANOTHER UPDATE

 

OMFG, what has happened to CIA? I was reassured repeatedly via e-mail that all the problems that I have mentioned in this thread were resolved. So, I didn't bother to open up the revised policy info that they sent via U.S. Mail. Until today. When I found out that my entire Scheduled Items list has disappeared. When I found out that my policy number has inexplicably been changed yet again. When I found a bunch of inexplicable charges and cancellations on my account (Change Premises charge? I haven't moved! Write-offs? What write-offs?) When I found that they had sent an unpaid invoice instead of charging my credit card as I had asked.

 

At this point, I am beyond appalled. If I had to file a claim now, I don't know which of the several policy numbers they have for me are in effect, which items are listed as Scheduled, what the amounts they are billing me mean, etc. How can I possibly have any confidence that they will be there to support me if I have to file a claim? My fellow policyholders, I think we all need to closely examine WTF is going on over there and ask ourselves whether we are really protected or not. This is not the same company it was before the ownership change.

 

CIA is just an insurance brokerage. The policies I had obtained through CIA (collectors and dealers policies) were written by The Hartford. The change in ownership of the CIA insurance brokerage should not impact the coverage you have as stated in your policy because CIA didn't write the policy and CIA isn't your "insurer." CIA just sold you the policy.

 

In any event, another insurance company that offers collectibles insurance is Chubb. Chubb has a "Valuable Articles" policy that you can get to cover your comics/comic art, though I have no information about premiums or the claims process. www.chubb.com

[Cody_Starbuck]

As a fat comic book collector, I'm not sure I want to be insured by "Chubb".

[delekkerste]

CIA is just an insurance brokerage. The policies I had obtained through CIA (collectors and dealers policies) were written by The Hartford. The change in ownership of the CIA insurance brokerage should not impact the coverage you have as stated in your policy because CIA didn't write the policy and CIA isn't your "insurer." CIA just sold you the policy.

 

We all know that CIA is not the insurer, but they handle all the details regarding the policy. I have never had direct contact with The Hartford, so if I want to make changes to my policy, I contact CIA and then they are supposed to take care of it. They have been doing a horrible job of it since the change of ownership; they apparently have some poorly trained new staff there and have implemented new procedures which has thrown everything into chaos. The fact that they are not the actual insurer has no bearing on anything.

[FFB]

CIA is just an insurance brokerage. The policies I had obtained through CIA (collectors and dealers policies) were written by The Hartford. The change in ownership of the CIA insurance brokerage should not impact the coverage you have as stated in your policy because CIA didn't write the policy and CIA isn't your "insurer." CIA just sold you the policy.

 

We all know that CIA is not the insurer, but they handle all the details regarding the policy. I have never had direct contact with The Hartford, so if I want to make changes to my policy, I contact CIA and then they are supposed to take care of it. They have been doing a horrible job of it since the change of ownership; they apparently have some poorly trained new staff there and have implemented new procedures which has thrown everything into chaos. The fact that they are not the actual insurer has no bearing on anything.

 

I started to type a response telling you to check the policies that had been delivered to you (because the actual policy delivered to you and accepted by you typically governs what coverage you have), but then decided against it. There's no point in trying to explain it to you. Maybe you should just get another insurer and be done with it. CIA isn't the only option out there and it sounds like you're not getting what you need to be satisfied.

[delekkerste]

I started to type a response telling you to check the policies that had been delivered to you (because the actual policy delivered to you and accepted by you typically governs what coverage you have), but then decided against it. There's no point in trying to explain it to you. Maybe you should just get another insurer and be done with it. CIA isn't the only option out there and it sounds like you're not getting what you need to be satisfied.

 

"There's no point in trying to explain it to you"? What's that all about? I think I am in a better position to know that the customer service on CIA's end has (unfortunately) broken down. Between my own experience, and two representatives from CIA admitting to me that there have been transition problems since the change of ownership, I think that holds more water than the opinion of anyone talking without any first-hand knowledge. I wouldn't be bringing this issue up regarding CIA if it wasn't fully merited. This isn't a case of me misunderstanding their business structure (I haven't, and it's 100% irrelevant anyway) - this is a simple customer service matter.

 

As for getting another insurer and being done with it, you make it sound like it's easy as changing socks. I only know of 1 or 2 other carriers who provide a collectibles-targeted policy and nobody seems to know anything about either of them other than they appear to be more expensive than CIA. Don't you think it's prudent to do my due diligence before "just getting another insurer and be done with it"? Who says they're any better or even know what they're doing?

 

Please stop arguing for argument's sake - you are not helping me or any of the many others who have purchased their policies through CIA - it is a mess over there right now and people need to know that. It doesn't do the hobby any good to sit back and watch them self-implode - do we really want to take our chances with the other options out there? Better that people speak up now and try to effect change there, which I am actively trying to do. This isn't just Internet message board whining and moaning - I gave Dan Walker, the former owner of CIA, an earful in San Diego (and that's putting it mildly) and I have been calling and e-mailing the company non-stop to get them to get their act together. Anyone who tries to impede this process or trivialize the issue is part of the problem, not the solution.

[FFB]

I started to type a response telling you to check the policies that had been delivered to you (because the actual policy delivered to you and accepted by you typically governs what coverage you have), but then decided against it. There's no point in trying to explain it to you. Maybe you should just get another insurer and be done with it. CIA isn't the only option out there and it sounds like you're not getting what you need to be satisfied.

 

"There's no point in trying to explain it to you"? What's that all about? I think I am in a better position to know that the customer service on CIA's end has (unfortunately) broken down.

 

You seem confused in a prior post about what kind of coverage you have and which policy would cover which kind of loss in the event that you needed to make a claim. I was going to explain to you the fact that your protection is typically limited to what is stated in the policies that are actually delivered to you and accepted by you. If you changed your coverage, until you get some written evidence of that, you're probably not covered by the change. Like I said, I didn't think this answer would satisfy you since you're itching for a fight.

 

Between my own experience, and two representatives from CIA admitting to me that there have been transition problems since the change of ownership, I think that holds more water than the opinion of anyone talking without any first-hand knowledge.

 

Did I say their customer service was good? No. I was trying to explain to you that if you have questions about what is actually covered (a question you raised in your prior post), check your policy that was delivered to you and accepted by you. It's the only thing you can rely on. Or, continue to act like a jerk to someone (me) who was just trying to help. Up to you.

 

I wouldn't be bringing this issue up regarding CIA if it wasn't fully merited. This isn't a case of me misunderstanding their business structure (I haven't, and it's 100% irrelevant anyway) - this is a simple customer service matter.

 

It's not irrelevant. People in this thread had blamed the change in ownership of CIA for everything from raised premiums (which have nothing to do with the owner of the brokerage being different) to changed terms of their policies (also has nothing to do with who owns the brokerage) and lack of service during the claims process (at which point you'd be dealing with the insurance company's claims department, not your broker). It may not have addressed all of the issues YOU raised, but that's no reason for you to act like a jerk.

 

As for getting another insurer and being done with it, you make it sound like it's easy as changing socks. I only know of 1 or 2 other carriers who provide a collectibles-targeted policy and nobody seems to know anything about either of them other than they appear to be more expensive than CIA. Don't you think it's prudent to do my due diligence before "just getting another insurer and be done with it"? Who says they're any better or even know what they're doing?

 

How many other brokers have you tried calling to ask for collectibles insurance while you were doing your "due diligence"? Have you tried calling any other broker for The Hartford to see if they'll sell you a policy? Or did you think that a company like The Hartford would create a special kind of insurance (collectibles insurance) and then only sell it through one broker in the whole world? Did your "due diligence" include a Google search for "collectibles insurance"? Because that results in 24,500 hits, including many, many other options.

 

Please stop arguing for argument's sake

 

 

- you are not helping me or any of the many others who have purchased their policies through CIA - it is a mess over there right now and people need to know that. It doesn't do the hobby any good to sit back and watch them self-implode - do we really want to take our chances with the other options out there? Better that people speak up now and try to effect change there, which I am actively trying to do. This isn't just Internet message board whining and moaning - I gave Dan Walker, the former owner of CIA, an earful in San Diego (and that's putting it mildly) and I have been calling and e-mailing the company non-stop to get them to get their act together. Anyone who tries to impede this process or trivialize the issue is part of the problem, not the solution.

 

Who's trying to impede you? I gave you the name of another carrier who offers this type of insurance. I tried to explain to you that if you have real questions about what coverage you have while you're sorting things out with CIA, you should check your policy because it's the only thing that is going to tell you what coverage you have. I have now also passed along the brilliant and novel idea of doing a Google search.

I am sorry that you seem unable to vent properly to the folks at CIA, but don't take it out on me just because you're pissed at them!

[delekkerste]

I'm not even going to bother rebutting your post, point-by-point, as laden with inaccuracies, unsubstantiated claims and straw men arguments as it is. I wasn't itching for a fight of any kind; I just didn't appreciate you coming along, misinterpreting/mischaracterizing what I said, trivializing the situation and patronizing me to boot. This thread clearly did not need you to come here to stir things up. All you're doing is shifting the focus away from where it belongs. Please, don't respond, just leave this thread alone.

[FFB]

[delekkerste]

 

[FFB]

 

 

I really wasn't trying to pick a fight with you, Gene. I was just trying to address your apparent concerns that your coverage was going to be affected by a change in ownership of the brokerage. Let's be friends again.

[delekkerste]

[FFB]

[Monstro]

wow, that was great!!!

[Monstro]

and fun!!

[delekkerste]

OK, it looks like everything is now finally squared away with with my policy.

[esquirecomics]

I gave Dan Walker, the former owner of CIA, an earful in San Diego

 

Gene, I, too, am insured by CIA. I have both a collectors and dealer's policy. I wasn't aware before this thread that CIA had been sold. Did they even notify us as policy holders?

 

In any event, I saw Dan at SD and just exchanged pleasantries. What is his role now with the company?

[delekkerste]

I don't recall getting any formal notification about the sale of the company. I was first informed back in May when I was told that they couldn't take my Scheduled Items additions over the phone anymore because of the new procedures implemented following the sale of the company. Both Dan Walker and another person at the company reiterated the sale news to me later on, pointing to that as a possible cause of the problems with my policy. I'm not sure what Dan's role is at the company now.