Insurance help

[coomber75]

Hey folks....
So last year's been a heavy collecting year... and my insurance is up for renewal on contents, any ideas how to get valuation on collection that they will accept, I'm not up to some of you guys level, but think I probably need a bit of cover ...
Cheers

 

[edd_jedi]

Depends whether you have any individual items worth over your policies maximum (mine is 2k.) I don't so it's covered by normal contents insurance.

 

[coomber75]

Thanks ed, unfortunately my limit is set at 1k and have a vc jawa that pushes me over I think ... just can't think what they will accept 're collection value..

 

[edd_jedi]

Do you have Paypal receipts?

 

[lejackal]

Thanks ed, unfortunately my limit is set at 1k and have a vc jawa that pushes me over I think ... just can't think what they will accept 're collection value..

If its graded individually its over 1k and one of the few benefits to grading is you can prove the value by an average of completed sales of vcj at 70/75/80 etc. If its not graded then it shouldn't be over £1000 on its own.

 

[coomber75]

I have for a few but not all, it was more about as a collection as a whole how I could prove to them the value, cheers guys

 

[steve obi wan]

I went to a comparison website and set a separate value for my Star Wars , then got the quotes !

 

[theforceuk]

Put the VCJ under your pillow and take it with you when you go on holiday, the rest is covered.

Only joking, the only real way to find out if your covered is to contact your insurance company directly.

 

[coomber75]

lol he is kept under the third floorboard on the left they said they wanted an expert valuation... grrr

 

[steve obi wan]

Happy daze :lol:

 

[edd_jedi]

Just thought I'd bump this as just renewed my contents insurance with collection fully disclosed and covered. Interestingly the cost of insuring the collection is approximately 10% of its value. So in theory even if it all got stolen/burned down every 10 years, I'd be no better off overall!

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

I can dig out the details of a specialist company, if it helps. 10% of the value is a bloody rip off. The company I used for a £60k medal collection charged me £200 a year and provided extra cover such as theft from motor vehicle and even loss in post when the usual postage cover didn't compensate enough. Brilliant cover.

And don't think that just because you have cover of individual items of up to £X,000 means you will be covered. Under a lot of home contents insurance policies collections are not included and, in fact, failing to declare a collection could invalidate a claim on unrelated contents for something like a burglary. The reason for this is that by having a collection you make your home a more attractive target (in fairness, that's correct). As such, billy burglar turns up, thinks "**** the toys" and makes off with your TV or the misses' pearl necklace instead (easy boys). So he's been attracted to your property by the awareness of your expensive toy collection and nicks other stuff. You've not told the insurer of your collection and they have a valid reason to reject your claim because you didn't make them aware of a risk factor.

Boring insurance lesson over. Yet another job I had, and left quickly....

 

[edd_jedi]

Sorry I'm being a retard - it's more like 1%. Not so bad after all :lol:

And yes good point above, I do have it noted and my policy has separate cover for what it calls "high risk items" that are under the high value threshold.

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

Sorry I'm being a retard - it's more like 1%. Not so bad after all :lol:

And yes good point above, I do have it noted and my policy has separate cover for what it calls "high risk items" that are under the high value threshold.

Now that's not too bad for a regular household insurer. Still too much compared to specialist insurers but not too bad at all from a convenience point of view. The danger with two insurers is when a claim comes in they both run for the hills and try and get the other to take liability or use each other's proposal forms to look for ways of invalidating the claim.

 

[x-pack]

Last time I spoke with my insurer they said the collection would be covered under the normal policy. I'm sceptical about this. No photos, no agreed valuation, no declaration (other than the phone conversation). Not convinced they would actually pay out.

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

Last time I spoke with my insurer they said the collection would be covered under the normal policy. I'm sceptical about this. No photos, no agreed valuation, no declaration (other than the phone conversation). Not convinced they would actually pay out.

Yeah, don't believe that if I was you, at least not without some extra work. Again, from my medal collecting days I learnt (not first hand) that in the case of a loss you are best to have the following:

Detailed photos
Proof of ownership
Proof of market value

The last two are easily evidenced with an eBay receipt, or auction house receipt. But purchases from each other, etc are harder to prove. Best you can do it take photos of individual items then, with the same camera and at the same time, take photos of the collection as a whole in your own home. Any doubts by the insurer can be overcome by digital examination of the exif data of the photos. Also, document what you have, when you have (detailed description as well as the photo), price you paid and where you bought it. I'm guilty of not doing this myself but it's something I'm meaning to do. As your individual collection grows it's essential. And in doing so you may surprise yourself by just how much you collection is worth.

 

[Snaketibe]

I can dig out the details of a specialist company, if it helps. 10% of the value is a bloody rip off. The company I used for a £60k medal collection charged me £200 a year and provided extra cover such as theft from motor vehicle and even loss in post when the usual postage cover didn't compensate enough. Brilliant cover.

And don't think that just because you have cover of individual items of up to £X,000 means you will be covered. Under a lot of home contents insurance policies collections are not included and, in fact, failing to declare a collection could invalidate a claim on unrelated contents for something like a burglary. The reason for this is that by having a collection you make your home a more attractive target (in fairness, that's correct). As such, billy burglar turns up, thinks "**** the toys" and makes off with your TV or the misses' pearl necklace instead (easy boys). So he's been attracted to your property by the awareness of your expensive toy collection and nicks other stuff. You've not told the insurer of your collection and they have a valid reason to reject your claim because you didn't make them aware of a risk factor.

Boring insurance lesson over. Yet another job I had, and left quickly....

I'd be interested in learning the name of a good specialist company as well, so if you could dig out the details, that would be great

Thanks.

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

The company I was recommended, and used, was H W WOOD. They are a specialist broker and the people I dealt with had dead posh name like D'Arcy and stuff

Don't be put off. Jolly nice people. Not tried to talk to them about toy insurance but I should imagine they've got a Dinky collection or two covered so why not some plastic?

Website is http://www.hwiuk.com/index.php

Tel (for Herts office) 01438 742 033

It's their fine arts dept. you'll need to speak to.

 

[maxf]

I renewed my insurance today and again confirmed my collection was covered. John Lewis insurance said the collection is covered for an unlimited amount under my normal household policy and is not classed as a 'valuable' so no need to itemise it - they limit the individual items to £3k each, but cumulatively unlimited. They said coins and stamps were treated differently but sci-fi toys were fine.

I have lots of photos if it came to it, and assume their calls are recorded so they have me on record several times asking the question.

That's cost £340 in south London.

 

[Snaketibe]

The company I was recommended, and used, was H W WOOD. They are a specialist broker and the people I dealt with had dead posh name like D'Arcy and stuff

Don't be put off. Jolly nice people. Not tried to talk to them about toy insurance but I should imagine they've got a Dinky collection or two covered so why not some plastic?

Website is http://www.hwiuk.com/index.php

Tel (for Herts office) 01438 742 033

It's their fine arts dept. you'll need to speak to.

Thanks very much for that, and thanks too to maxf for his recommendation.