Insurance coverage for firearms

[WolfPack]

New to the forum so I did a quick search for insurance coverage to see if the topic has been covered already. I didn’t find anything that answered my question, which is this. Most insurance policies only cover a small amount for firearms. 1-2k at best. Anything over the amount on your policy and you’re SOL if the guns are stolen or get charred in a fire. What do you do once you exceed that amount? Buy a gunsafe or get more coverage? Anyone ever had an insurance claim for firearms that can clarify?

 

[Brandon]

Renters insurance took care of my one and only claim.
Home owners covers so much for personal property.
I do have a policy for just my guns in addition to homeowners insurance.

 

[GLOCKMAN23C]

I would recommend talking with your agent, as my renter's policy only covers $1000 or so. I think that my insurance told me ~$200/year for an all indemnity policy, that covers theft, fire, damage during use. There is also a discount for having a safe.

 

[fireball168]

Core-Vens Insurance  1-800-796-9907

 

[mk2ja]

I called USAA. I exceeded what they'd cover with my renters insurance, so there is a specific plan they had available for "valuable items," which can be anything from jewelry to electronics to firearms. Your insurance company may have something similar.

ETA - the downside of itemized insurance is, of course, that they need an itemized list, which you may not really want to provide. Pick your poison.

 

[Bob2]

anyone know how much the NRA coverage is good for? Just joined in December

 

[panderson]

When I got my homeowners insurance I asked about this and got additional coverage added to my policy like another poster said. You give them a list of the manufacturer/model of gun(s) you have. Can't remember if I had to give a value or not. It's not that much additional per year to have it added.

 

[Dobber]

I called USAA. I exceeded what they'd cover with my renters insurance, so there is a specific plan they had available for "valuable items," which can be anything from jewelry to electronics to firearms

I also have USAA for all my insurance needs and have this addition "valuable property" policy. They recorded the make/model, purchase date, approximate value, and I did opt to share the serial numbers but that wasn't required. Thanks for reminding me, actually...need to cancel it as I'm going ice fishing this weekend and have a bad feeling something crazy might happen like losing all my guns in the lake. After such an unfortunate event I'll be beside myself and won't think to make claims anyway.

-Dobber

 

[lww]

anyone know how much the NRA coverage is good for? Just joined in December

"One of the many benefits of your NRA membership is access to $2,500 of ArmsCare firearm insurance at no cost to you through the NRA Endorsed Insurance Program."

You can buy additional coverage up to $1,000,000.

--Bill

 

[ACC]

I just did this. My agent added a "rider" to my policy for the total value of my guns. It only added about $100 annually to my policy. I had to send them pictures, serial numbers, description and value of my guns.

 

[zoglog]

I called both USAA and State Farm, I needed a separate policy for my collection. It is cheap, but like mk2ja said you have to give them a list and State Farm wanted pictures.

 

[PriestEG]

when i purchased my new home in 2012 sept, my agent told me that my general home owners policy would cover X number of dollars to replace personal property contents in the case of a total loss. However, this policy would only allow for 10% of that value to be firearms and accessories. As of now i am under the amount which is rather high, but in the future when i cross over the covered amount i will need to get a small rider policy for additional firearms. (10k in additional rider policy coverage was like $40-50/a year)

 

[Brandon]

My State Farm agent did not ask for pictures.
They did want make/caliber/aprox value/serial number.

They also asked a few questions about aprox value of guns kept in safes, aprox value of what I would take out of the residence for range time/carry peice on a given day.

I opted for the cost of replacement inflation values... forget how they worded that exactly though. I'm right around 100 bucks a year to cover my collection.

 

[DRob]

Ask this

Be sure to ask what losses are covered. Some of the policies I saw when shopping only covered losses which happened in your home. My State Farm policy covers my guns regardless of the type or location of the loss.

 

[fastwally]

This is where I have my guns insured.

Collectibles Insurance - Protecting Books, Stamps, Antiques and other Rare and Vintage collections in Baltimore, Maryland

 

[84VETTE]

I have State Farm, fortunately my mother is my agent. My homeowners policy covers up to $5000 but you can open a separate policy for anything over that.

 

[WolfPack]

Thanks for all the feedback. I checked with my agent today and we did some quick math only to learn I may need to consider adding a “rider”. I like the NRA option. I didn’t realize they even offered coverage.

 

[Tactical Dave]

I have State Farm and they cover like 1-2k automatically... If I want more I just tell them to bump it up.... If I remember right it is tied in with thugs like jewelry.


I just have to take pictures and document serial numbers and keep those records so that if I file a claim I can provide pictures/serial numbers for the claim.

 

[Pinchaser]

With State Farm, you can buy an extension for your firearms for very little extra per month. I have $40K coverage for only an additional $19/month on my homeowner's policy. I find it very reasonable. And, no, I did not have to provide an inventory list.

 

[worddoer]

Insurance Agent speaking here...

First, before you read below, you need to see my disclaimer. The insurance industry is becoming more standardized. But when it comes to special / better than normal coverage on items like firearms, jewelry, electronics and such...there is no standard. Every insurance company makes up their own rules. Because of this, I urge each of you to talk with your insurance people to make sure you have the correct coverage. Otherwise you will be kicking yourself in the butt if something happens and your company will not pay near enough or anything at all. And being in the business over a decade, I have seen it happen many times. Because people did not take the time to get things right.

OK. Generally in the industry there are limits on firearm coverage with a bare bones homeowners insurance policy. Especially for loss by theft. Most companies have 2 ways to address this problem.

1. A separate special property policy. If your insurance company uses this, this is generally a good option. Most companies will cover firearms that you list. Normally you need to provide the make, model, value and serial number of each firearm. Once the value is over a certain limit (varies on company) then they will also require photos. You can choose a deductible just like on your home or auto insurance. The higher the deductable...the cheaper the coverage. This version normally creates its own separate bill.

2. Add an endorsement to your existing homeowners insurance. Now for some companies this works the same way as above, but it's just all wrapped up in the homeowners insurance policy number and billing. There is no separate policy. Just keep in mind that if you have your homeowners insurance escrowed into your mortgage, then this version will affect your mortgage payment.

Here is where you need to be careful. There are companies who will list each firearm like above. Generally that means the firearm is covered for "open perils" or many types of claims...a whole lot more than just theft. This is normally the best you can get.

But there are companies that just add a blanket amount...say $5,000 for firearms. There is no list of what you have. If your company has done this, you need to verify what type of claims or situations your policy will pay for. Many times those blanket amounts are ONLY for theft and will not cover other situations. So if you had a house fire, this extra blanket amount may not cover you.

Above was all generalities since each insurance company has its own rules. Again, please talk with your insurance person and make sure you have what you want and what you need.