Insurance appraisal

[paddling_man]

A friend (really) needs an appraisal of his gun collection for his new insurance policy. Me? I take pictures and record serial numbers plus purchase data. Him? He says he needs an appraiser.

Got any suggestions? His residence is Greenwood.

Thanks

 

[Win52C]

...most insurance will only cover either 5 or 10k ( i cant remember)in firearms without buying addition coverage...so you need to document what you have and if it makes you feel fuzzy then get it appraised...but if you have good documentation then it could be done after the fact if needed. IMHO

 

[chraland51]

Kinda tricky situation you put yourself into when you want to thoroughly insure your weapons. Now, someone else, the insurance company and anyone that they might share their information with, will have your complete inventory of firearms in their electronic files that can be easily queried should the wrong people demand such information for registration or confiscation. I would not mind paying for a professional appraisal for value, but to make certain inforamtion readily available to potential gun grabbers gives me some pause.

 

[SelfDefenseInstructor]

Also keep in mind that in addition to having to pay more for additional coverage (mine was only 5k base) that they'll also add onto your premium simply because now you have confirmed that you have firearms in the house and this makes you high risk. It's a double-whammy. There may also be some exclusions/limitations in the policy coverage for theft. Best to ask.

 

[tuoder]

I don't think it matters too much to the insurance company which method you use, because they are just going to charge you based on the value of whatever is insured.

If you are insuring something because you want to buy a new one if the old one gets stolen or lost or whatever, use the purchase price. If you are insuring something because of it's cash value in case of the same, get it appraised.

 

[DRob]

Wow!

Also keep in mind that in addition to having to pay more for additional coverage (mine was only 5k base) that they'll also add onto your premium simply because now you have confirmed that you have firearms in the house and this makes you high risk. It's a double-whammy.......................quote]

You need a new insurance carrier my friend!

 

[baldguy637]

...most insurance will only cover either 5 or 10k ( i cant remember)in firearms without buying addition coverage...so you need to document what you have and if it makes you feel fuzzy then get it appraised...but if you have good documentation then it could be done after the fact if needed. IMHO

I wish my insurance (farmers) had that much coverage! Our house got broken into in feb. of 08, had a few handguns, watch's, wife's jewelry and cash taken. Long story short, they only covered $100 in cash, $1000 in firearms, and $5000 in jewelry max without additional coverage. Plus i had to prove that i owened everything that was stolen. (box's firearms came in, ser. #'s, ect....) Needless to say, I purchased a rather large gunsafe that is now anchored to the wall and floor with the $ i would have to pay for the seperate policy for the firearms.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I wish my insurance (farmers) had that much coverage! Our house got broken into in feb. of 08, had a few handguns, watch's, wife's jewelry and cash taken. Long story short, they only covered $100 in cash, $1000 in firearms, and $5000 in jewelry max without additional coverage. Plus i had to prove that i owened everything that was stolen. (box's firearms came in, ser. #'s, ect....) Needless to say, I purchased a rather large gunsafe that is now anchored to the wall and floor with the $ i would have to pay for the seperate policy for the firearms.

Wow, that sucks.

Farm Bureau covers up to $5k in personal property for theft; it doesn't matter what the property is.

IIRC, there is no limit to their coverage for fire.

 

[jimbo-indy]

Farmer's has very reasonable rates for additional coverage. I just added $10K to cover my guns for about $80/yr. I do have a safe, keep a list of make/model/serial #/accessories and am in the process of taking detailed digital photos of each. Info is saved in multiple locations. The homeowners policy add-on covers theft, fire, etc. OR you can buy a separate policy that would cover even loss through your own fault and replacement cost but that would require detailed info and would cost more. My agent offered both and explained the differences.

 

[knobcreeknut]

I used to carry a rider from state farm to cover my collection. rates were reasonable. when I bought my thompson, I wanted to add to the rider, but, after checking into it, my agent informed me that state farm will not insure NFA items.

I now use collectibles insurance. I just did a quick estimat on there site, and $80,000 coverage is only $459/yr if you have a safe, a little less if you have an alarm system. they only want specific info on any single item worth 5k or more if I recall correctly, other than that, they just rely on your record keeping

 

[Libertarian01]

Some insurance thoughts

To All,

My father has been in the insurance business since 1972 and I just checked w/ him. He has been an independent agent since the mid 80's and has represented a lot of companies. However, each company is different so read your policy but overall it works like this:

Any firearms you have are insured v/s normal loss up to 100% of their value. This means that if a tornado hits, the wife looses control in the kitchen and the house burns down, the dog chews through the gas line and the house blows up your firearms are covered up to their value, with whatever normal deductible applying to your total loss.

The rider you put on your firearms is normally against theft. Most of your criminals will grab small things w/ a high value and/or easy resale and the companies know this. So jewelry and firearms must have a rider on them v/s theft. This is normally $X / $Y (ex. $3 / $100 value in firearms.)

You can supply an appraisal from most any gun dealer that can be used to determine value. This must be done ahead of time, NOT after the loss.

A bill of sale is usually a very good place to start. So, for example, I have an M91/30 Mosin Nagant I bought for $125. That would probably be the bare minimum I would get out of the insurance company. Now if I could prove that on Jan 1st, 2010 I took my gun to Wild Bill's Shootm' Up store and Bill said my M91/30 was now worth $175 that would be reasonable for the company. If for some reason Wild Bill said my M91/30 was really worth $2,500 the adjuster would probably start looking for other reputable dealers to get second opinions. This initiate the warning below, so beware!

Here is what I suggest:

#1) If you have a camcorder walk around each and every room INCLUDING closets and film everything you have. Include the attic as well. Do this at least once per year;

#2) If you do not have a camcorder and cannot borrow one stand in opposite corners of each room and take a picture. You do this if for no other reason than you WILL NOT remember all of the things you own after a major loss yet you are entitled to reimbursement by the company. IF you have it on film you will count all of the pictures, knickknacks, stuff, and junk in each room.

#3) For your more expensive stuff take individual pictures showing what condition each is in. This will help you in ANY argument regarding value.

#4) Sales receipts should be kept for ALL large ticket items or scanned onto computer. This will really help you save time, headaches, and stress after a loss;

#5) If you have a lot of books good pictures of the bookshelf will help you remember which books to replace;

#6) Store all of this information OFF SITE! It cannot help you IF IT IS BURNED UP OR TAKEN AWAY ALONG WITH DOROTHY AND TOTO!!! A friend, family member, bank lock box, whatever. Just not at the same bloody location!

While court cases have set certain precedents regarding insurance coverage making many policies similar take the time to read your homeowners policy!!! It will tell you exactly how the coverage for firearms and other valuable items is handled. This applies to renters insurance as well, so renters should have good coverage for their stuff except against theft.

Also for renters don't forget the the property owners insurance doesn't cover your stuff at all! Renters is only about $100 / year so fork it up! Besides, w/ an auto - home discount you will get from renters it may actually SAVE you some $$$.

If you have a home security system it will probably help lower the homeowners premium part but will probably NOT lower the the amount the rider will cost. Check w/ your individual agent regarding this. Maybe a gun vault will count??? Don't be afraid to ask.

Never buy a policy that doesn't have replacement value coverage! This means that you are entitled to like kind and quality of what was lost. This doesn't entitle you to an upgrade, but rather what it says. Most agents won't sell you a policy w/out replacement coverage, but if they do upgrade it now!

Also, you want an HO-3 policy, not an HO-2. It is simple: An HO-2 policy tells you what is covered against while an HO-3 tells you what is NOT covered against. So, if you read an HO-3 policy and it doesn't list "wild, cannibal zombies" as an exclusion, you are protected against them! On an HO-2 policy it would have to list "wild, cannibal zombies" otherwise you are out on your own!

Warning: Never, ever try to pad the loss! Any attempt at insurance fraud will void the entire claim even if it is legitimate! My father had a client who suffered a burglary, for real, but tried to get greedy and add a video game to the loss. The detective had kids and asked where all the individual game instructions were. The lady who was robbed couldn't come up with any receipts or any proof that they ever owned that kind of video game. The attempt at insurance fraud cost her the entire amount of her claim, even though she really was robbed. So, don't get greedy.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Doug

PS - Floods are a different matter and I am unfamiliar w/ them. Even if you are NOT in a flood plane read your policy and do not hesitate to ask your agent what is covered!!!