A) In general most collectibles are ONLY covered up to $2500 on most insurance policies.
Check with your Homeowners Insurance to be sure. Also most Renter's Policies do not insure ANY collectibles.
B) Some have said that their agent said this or that.
I am going to tell you right now to get it in writing.... PERIOD.
Most are not aware that the cards will not be covered like other valuables - same as rare coins etc.
C) Best bet is a RIDER on your Home Policy.
D) If you live in the US - don;t pay attention to what someone says from another country an vice-versa. Coverage and rules vary greatly from country to country.
E) Keep print outs of eBay transactions of your cards as proof of what you paid as well as receipts from your local shop. Also keep a digital record (hi-res) on a separate thumb drive in a safe place and remember to update often.
Many US Insurance companies DO NOT INSURE cards - I would never take anyone's word for it - PERIOD. I have seen to many instances of fire/theft damage where jewelry, collectibles even figurines were not covered.
To give you an idea even my golf club/equipment is carried on a rider.
No deductible and no questions about coverage.
This has been a PSA.
Bruce
This is pretty close to what I would say. I have worked in the insurance industry for over 15 years and currently write some of the craziest policies imaginable.
I hate to throw many "agents" under the bus but the "my agent said" argument is going to hold no value come claim time and is often times completely wrong information. Talk to your agent and please ask them to show you where it is or is not covered in the policy.
Anyone who tells you that it is covered under the homeowners section is telling you a half truth. That coverage is going to come with very significant limitations (ie $500/$1000/$5000 cap) and is also subject to your homeowners deductible. Most people carry at least at $1000k deductible (or should anyway) which is going to cut into any settlement.
I do not know of the company that specifically writes collectibles mentioned but it is certainly worth reviewing.
Under a personal policy there are two basic coverages that will address this type of collection - a Blanket Policy and a Schedule Policy (or rider).
Personally - I schedule a handful of cards, basically the stuff that is of significant value (I set my line at about $1k cards and up). It is more expensive but (generally) there are very few limitations to the coverage - flood, mysterious disappearance, dog ate it, etc are all covered. Those are all likely not covered on a homeowners policy. Cards generally need to have an appraisal and an agreed value settled on between the policy holder and company. If there is a loss, policy holder is paid that full amount (generally).
I also have a significant blanket - these can be set up in a number of different ways but basically they give you a lot of coverage but limit at one items payout. So a person could have $50k in total coverage with no one item to exceed $500 - if there is a total loss, the full blanked would be paid - if you had a Crosby Cup Rookie stolen, you would cap out at $500. Not good for high end cards but good for basic collections with lots of changes and decent but not super high end cards.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT EVERYTHING I HAVE MENTIONED AND HAS BEEN MENTIONED IN EVERY POST VARIES FROM POLICY TO POLICY, FROM STATE TO STATE AND FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY - PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ANY OF THIS INFORMATION AS THE "BE ALL, END ALL".
I am happy to review any insurance documents for people to let you know what you have - unfortunately, the news will likely not be good and the coverage will be significantly limited from what you think is there.
I would hate to tell every person here to keep detailed records for a loss that could happen some day - only to have that happen and have all that time and data collection be completely useless as there is no available coverage or it is significantly limited.
That being said - scans, spreadsheets, data is rarely a bad thing - also, get a fireproof safe and don't keep it on an upper floor of your home if possible. They do a great job of keeping fire out but don't do a great job when the building collapses and they fall 20 feet to the concrete slab.
