Collection Insurance - any recommendations

[JOLLYKART]

Does anyone have a recommendation on an insurance company for a gun collection, my agent at State Farm informs me that going over my 2500/5000 cap is not really cost effective. I explained that having my collection destroyed or stolen does not seem very cost effective either, he just does not seem very interested in helping. Looks like a new insurance company or agent is in my near future.

Looking at NRA's offerings, any others that you folks have used and would recommend.

 

[Squirt239]

Funny...my State Farm agent suggested a rider policy. It's an extra $7 a month...

 

[Brown]

Rider Policy. can put whatever you like on it and no limit on total amount that I have found

 

[JOLLYKART]

Can I ask what amount of additional insurance that covers so that I might have yet another conversation with my agent?

Thanks for the information.

 

[JOLLYKART]

Does that cover guns to only a certain value? or as long as they are scheduled will the rider cover guns over say 2000.00?

Appreciate the help!

 

[singlestacksig]

you will want to talk to an agent directly.. I think there is one on this board... State farm's rider does not cover if your collection is above a certain amount, or if a single item is above an amount...
they do have a seperate policy you can get to cover such items.. but it is quite a bit more than the NRA policy..

 

[Squirt239]

Call Chris McCreary in Brownsburg. Great guy. Tell him Havlin sent you

 

[Clay]

big thing I dont like about the state farm policy is they want descriptions, SERIAL NUMBERS, etc for every firearm on the rider.

Might also want to check with John Richardson @ Eastern Insurance (jrichardson@easterninsurance.com). A few guys around here have recommended them.

 

[Sailor]

It is about 1.60 per $100 of coverage. If you have over 75k in firearms an alarm system is required. They want the descriptions of the items, so they can replace apples to apples after a loss.

 

[DRob]

State Farm

State Farm will increase coverage for guns on a homeowner's policy but only up to a certain dollar amount. We have enough guns to exceed that amount so we have a "Personal Articles" policy. It could cover guns, other sports gear, jewelry, or just about any other items we want to put on it. All we have on it is guns. The premium is based on the total of the values I placed on the guns and runs about $15 per thousand. I do provide them with serial numbers, calibers, and complete descriptions and have no qualms about it.

The one thing you want to check on is this: Some policies may be cheaper but may only cover a loss which occurs in your home. I actually saw one (don't recall which it was) that covered only loss by fire in the home. My State Farm policy covers any kind of loss regardless of where it occurs.

 

[Sailor]

The SF homeowners policy only limits guns for losses of theft. 50k of lost guns in a fire you are good. The personal articles policy covers everything, anywhere in the world.

 

[Clay]

From my quote, Eastern Insurance is $3.57 per $1000 of coverage. No single firearm over $10K is the only limit I see in the policy. Im sure this is adjustable if needed, but Im sure the $$/$1000 goes up as well

 

[buffalohump]

A note to remember, Insurance companys are in the business of not paying. Be careful

 

[Sailor]

I paid claims for over 10 years. I was in the business of paying what we owed as fast as possible. No more, no less.

 

[Brandon]

I too have a rider policy with State Farm. List of makes/models/calibers/sn numbers is what they wanted. I made sure to put in that list which had night sights/scopes and such.

I think mine was under 1.00 per 100 to insure.

 

[Kart29]

Finally, Here is a topic where I really believe I can offer some reliable and authoritative information. I'm a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter and Certified Insurance Counselor - that means I've had the best training available in the industry. I've been selling personal lines insurance for over 18 years. I hold myself out to be an expert in this field.

First, to determine what insurance you have on your guns, you MUST READ YOUR POLICY. Don't be intimidated by it. It can be a little bit tricky, the way things are organized but it is NOT written in "legalese". Insurance policies, by regulation, are written at the eighth grade level or below. All policies can be slightly different and vary from company to company or state to state. YOU MUST READ YOUR POLICY to determine what YOUR SPECIFIC POLICY covers and doesn't cover.

Having stated my disclaimer, every insurance policy I have ever sold for any of about 25 insurance companies ranging from large national carriers to small regional carriers has been virtually identical on the coverage provided for firearms. A "renters insurance" policy is a type of "homeowners" policy and there is no difference between the two as far as coverage for firearms.

Here's some facts about the coverage provided by a standard homeowners/renters policy. This is a nationwide standard but state specific or company specific exceptions are always possible.

1. Your guns ARE covered right along with all your other personal property up the coverage limit of your policy. If your policy says you have $100,000 of coverage on your personal property - that includes guns and you could submit a claim for and receive a settlement for the full $100,000 for strictly damage to or loss of firearms.

2. The ONLY limitation for coverage on guns is a THEFT limitation. Industry standard is that guns are only covered for up to $2,500 total if they are lost due to THEFT. This $2,500 limit does NOT apply if the guns are lost in a fire, tornado, or any other covered cause. But, if your guns are stolen, the insurance company's settlement will max out at $2,500 AFTER the application of your policy deductible.

3. MOST policies only cover personal property (guns included) for specified perils, or "causes of loss". If your guns are lost or damaged by some cause not specifically described as covered, then you don't have any coverage. The typical covered perils under a good homeowners policy include: fire, smoke, explosion, hail, windstorm, THEFT, vehicles, some water damage and few other things that are not likely to ever damage a gun. NOTE: FLOOD is NOT a covered cause of loss under a basic homeowners insurance policy.

So, the above is what you get if you just have a run of the mill, plane-jane, homeowners policy. Now, what do you do if you want MORE coverage on your guns (especially for theft where you have the $2500 limitation), or if you want BETTER coverage on your guns (to cover things like flood, dropping them in the river, termites, or whatever).

1. For MORE coverage as far as dollar value, you have two options. First, you can pay an extra premium to increase the blanket limitation for theft of firearms. That is, you can increase the $2.500 theft limitation to $5,000 or $10,000 and up. $10,000 is probably the max the insurance company will be willing to offer in this manner. This is a very little used option because it's relatively expensive and doesn't improve your coverage that much. Generally the coverage costs about $3.00 for every $100 in increase over the basic $2,500 that comes automatically. Pretty pricey, but no schedule is required.

The second option is to "SCHEDULE" the guns on an "endorsement" or a "floater". Scheduling the guns avoids the $2,500 theft limitation and also gets broader coverage for things like flood and dropping them in the lake. When your guns are "scheduled", you actually provide the insurance company with an inventory of each individual gun you wish to insure and provide information about that gun including a description (preferrably with serial number) and a dollar value. It is very rare that an insurance company would require any formal appraisals whatsoever unless any single gun is to be insured for more than $5,000 or so. Usually they just want a list describing each gun and a dollar value - that's it. Cost of this scheduled coverage varies but usually costs in the range of $1.50 to $2.50 per $100 of coverage. If you schedule some of your guns, you still have the basic coverage to apply to any of the other guns that you didn't schedule.

2. Now, what if you want BETTER coverage on your guns so that they are covered for things besides the fire, theft, and windstorm coverage you get on all your personal property? Here again you have two options. First, you can buy what's called "Special Personal Property" coverage. It expands the scope of the coverage on all of your property, including guns, to cover any cause of damage unless specifically excluded. However, you will still have the $2,500 theft limitation so you won't have solved that problem.

The other option for better coverage on your guns is again, to "SCHEDULE" the guns. By specifically insuring individual guns, you not only have more coverage on them, but you will also pick up coverage for flood, dropping them in the lake, mysterious disappearance, and just about anything else that can happen to them.


WHAT ABOUT CLAIMS?

So what do you need if your guns are lost or destroyed? Again, you have to read your policy for the specific requirements, but without exception, every policy I have ever seen has ONLY three basic requirements. First, you must give the insurance company a detailed list of the lost or damaged property. Second, you must save the damaged property or its residue, if any, for inspection by the insurance company. Third, you must report to the police if a crime may have been committed. That's it. I have NEVER seen a policy that requires you to have receipts or proof of ownership to successfully collect an insurance settlement. If anybody tells you that they are either untrained, mistaken, or lying. If a claims adjuster tells you the must have receipts or proof of ownership before they pay a claim CONTACT YOUR STATE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER!

Having said that, if you do have a claim, things are going to go MUCH EASIER for you if you do have receipts, photographs, serial numbers, appraisals, or any other documentation about the guns. Another benefit of buying scheduled coverage on your guns is that the insurance company will already have a list of your major firearms inventory and settling claims only comes down to you signing a proof of loss form and them signing a bank draft. If you have any collector's pieces in your inventory, it will be beneficial to have an appraisal on those guns. Once the gun is stolen, how are you going to prove it was in mint condition and worth top dollar? The insurance company may only want to pay for average condition and how are you going to prove them wrong? Best to have any collectors guns appraised before they are lost. Also, if you tell an insurance company you had thousands of dollars of guns stolen but have no receipts or serial numbers or proof of ownership, they are going to get suspicious real fast. That doesn't mean they won't pay up, just that they may drag their feet, and question everything you tell them from there on. Trust me, things will go much better for you if you have some kind of records or evidence of what was lost, stolen, or destroyed.


Hope some of this helps and isn't too long winded. There's alot more I could go into but I don't want to make it too complicated.

The NRA has arranged for a plan available to members that provides pretty good coverage. I think you can get coverage there at a rate $1.66 per $100 and I think there is no need to provide them a detailed schedule if you are wanting to keep that information private. Sounds like a pretty good deal although I've had no personal experience or heard any reports on how good it is when you've had a claim. But, if things go wrong I would hope the NRA would negotiate on your behalf.

Any questions - I'd be happy to help any way I can!

 

[Kart29]

By the way...

TonyKarts are superior to JollyKarts in everyway

 

[Sailor]

For theft claims you must prove reasonable ownership. Bought that 100 inch plasma screen last week and dont have a receipt, manual, box, remote control, etc. You are out of luck. New expensive items need reasonable proof.

 

[vitamink]

I had state farm and my house was broken into. They did a good job covering all the stuff that was stolen with the exception of my guns. They got an 870 and a Keltec 380, but said they weren't covered. Luckily the police stopped the jobless, good toothed, crooked hatted, douchebags and i got my guns back. I switched from state farm though.

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

USAA wanted a list of serial numbers, types and photos of each gun to cover more than the 10,000. NRA wants the same...