If you collect fine art, antiques, or sports memorabilia, you know how precious and often irreplaceable these items can be. Proper protection is crucial. Here’s what you need to know about insuring your high-value collectibles.
Why Your Homeowners Policy Isn’t Enough
Most homeowners’ policies only cover collectibles up to about $2,000. After a loss, collectors often find their homeowners insurance lacking coverage for accidental breakage, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, water damage, and mysterious disappearances. Plus, many homeowners policies pay claims based on depreciated value, even though collections often maintain or increase in value over time.
Specialized Coverage Options
To protect your special collection, consider a specialized endorsement, rider, or floater policy. These policies can cover your collection for its full value, whether you keep it at home or travel with it.
A collectibles policy offers several key protections:
- Agreed-Value Coverage: Provides full collector value for items, including accessories like packaging, without depreciation.
- Extended Coverage: Can cover items while they’re in transit and even if they’re only used occasionally, like an antique harp or china collection.
- Automatic Value Increases: Periodically increases the insurance value for scheduled items.
- Multiple Collections: Insure different types of collections under one contract, like a sports memorabilia room and a figurine collection.
- Broader Risk Coverage: Includes protection against risks like water damage.
Choosing the Right Coverage
Coverage options depend on the size and value of your collection. For smaller collections worth a few thousand dollars, a rider on your homeowners policy might suffice. However, for larger collections, blanket coverage is often the best choice. This is ideal for collections with many items, like a baseball card collection, where individual pieces may not be highly valuable but the collection as a whole is.
Some policies require you to schedule, appraise, and document each item, especially for more expensive collections. You can also mix and match a blanket policy with higher-value items scheduled separately.
Talk to Your Insurance Broker
Not all policies are alike, and your collectibles may have unique insurance needs. It’s crucial to discuss the best coverage options with your insurance broker to ensure your collection is fully protected.
