Insuring My Collection: Advice?

[danpo]

This may have been discussed before, but I'm looking for advice on insuring my collection. I have a full set of duals and plenty of other nice cardboard that didn't come cheap, and I worry about my house burning down while I'm away quite a bit.

So! How does one go about persuading an insurer that you own thousands of dollars worth of weird paper, getting it appraised, proving it was incinerated or stolen and not hawked on ebay, etc? Or does everyone just get fucked over for thousands and switch to badminton when their collection gets killed?

Thanks!

[Leftconsin]

Possibly you can talk to your home insurer to check if your collection is covered already. If not you could then ask how you can get it insured.

[rocketrae21]

If you are concerned just about fire/water damage you can invest in a safe of sufficient quality

[redhamjack]

If you have a typical homeowners/rental insurance policy magic cards are treated like an antique or collectible up to $1000.00 provided you can prove that you actually owned that much in cards. I would suggest videotaping your collection to prove what you actually own. Most people (especially on a legacy site) have over 1k in cards. As such, you'll have to ask your insurance provider about the cost of additional coverage. If I recall correctly, and it has been a while, a friend had his quite large collection (about 20k in cards) insured for an extra $10 a month over what he was paying for his homeowners insurance.

Keep in mind what your deductible will be if they are stolen/burned/flooded and what the limitations of your policy are. Honestly, just call up your insurance company. People get all sorts of stuff insured all the time, I doubt that it is the first time this kind of request has come up for them.

[SmallFish]

The best thing to do would be to schedule a limit onto your policy with Magic: The Gathering cards specifically listed with the limit you feel is comfortable. Most homeowners policies have a $500 deductible, but it does vary, so you should check to verify that. As redhamjack suggested, take pictures or videos of your cards which you can use in the event you do have a claim. I'd also suggest a fireproof safe as rocketrae21 suggested.

[dahcmai]

Yeah, you have to take pictures of all of it. They preferably want an appraisal, yes, you can actually get one on Magic cards. It's a dumb expense, but it's out there. Basically, you have to show that you own it and how much it's worth.

Just go to your home insurance or renter's insurance company and ask them what they need. It's easiest to just ask them. I had to take pictures of all of mine and keep a record with them.

[apistat_commander]

When purchasing our renter's insurance we simply took out a "Collectibles" clause. I didn't have to provide a list of my cards or anything, I just had to give the approximate value of my collection. It was only $5 for the year, but my GF's dad is in insurance so YMMV.

[danpo]

Thanks dudes. Guess I'll just call some bastards tomorrow. Because man I do not want to play backgammon.

[Dresden]

Lol what are the odds, I just opened a thread on the exact same topic on MTGS. Below is my post, and here's a quick summary on what I've found:

Traditional insurer's, i.e. AAA and State Farm Specialty are a no-go. AAA requires appraisal of the collection by a third-party (who even does this and how much?!), which doesn't seem great especially if it's in semi-constant flux due to trading, etc. State Farm flat out said they do not insure M:TG cards.

Online, CollectInsure.com insures mtg, and so does American Collectors. I've found CollectInsure.com to be a bit cheaper, but both of these have reasonable rates.


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Mmm so here's a question I've been thinking about for some time now, does anyone know which insurance company(s) would insure my cards?

And does anyone have any other information in relation to the topic (cost, deductible, coverage amount, etc...)

There's a couple of threads I've found while searching for this topic, will post links to them here (mods: If this is against the rules just lemme know and I'll take the links down)

http://www.magictraders.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/024978.html
http://www.magictraders.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/023837.html

Basically what the suggestions boil down to is Homeowners (it seems like this is sketchy, i.e. it may cover booster pack values but not rarities), State Farm, which I've placed a query with, and Collectibles Insurance (does ANYBODY have a policy with them? I'd be greatly interested in hearing from you - especially if you have unfortunately ever filed a claim for stolen items!)

[Beatusnox]

Lol what are the odds, I just opened a thread on the exact same topic on MTGS. Below is my post, and here's a quick summary on what I've found:

Traditional insurer's, i.e. AAA and State Farm Specialty are a no-go. AAA requires appraisal of the collection by a third-party (who even does this and how much?!), which doesn't seem great especially if it's in semi-constant flux due to trading, etc. State Farm flat out said they do not insure M:TG cards.

Online, CollectInsure.com insures mtg, and so does American Collectors. I've found CollectInsure.com to be a bit cheaper, but both of these have reasonable rates.


---
Mmm so here's a question I've been thinking about for some time now, does anyone know which insurance company(s) would insure my cards?

And does anyone have any other information in relation to the topic (cost, deductible, coverage amount, etc...)

There's a couple of threads I've found while searching for this topic, will post links to them here (mods: If this is against the rules just lemme know and I'll take the links down)

http://www.magictraders.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/024978.html
http://www.magictraders.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/023837.html

Basically what the suggestions boil down to is Homeowners (it seems like this is sketchy, i.e. it may cover booster pack values but not rarities), State Farm, which I've placed a query with, and Collectibles Insurance (does ANYBODY have a policy with them? I'd be greatly interested in hearing from you - especially if you have unfortunately ever filed a claim for stolen items!)

I would think that you could use a local gaming store owner as an appraisal service, they might consider that. You would have to ask your insurance provider if that would work. Also, if you travel a lot with your cards in your car, your car insurance may cover it.