First of all, get a new insurance Agent. Yesterday.
This is insurance 101, and you should never trust the professionism of an agent that gave you such stupid, inncorrect advise.
First of all, if you have replacement costs on the rest of your personal belongings (furniture, clothes, dishes, etc) this will extent to your personal music collection, most likely with a cap limit of about $1000. Get them "schudeled" with your homeowners like you would expensive jewelry, guns, paintings, yes it will be expensive (very high fraud in this market, experts think 50% fraud)but this is the way to do it.
Get a new agent, really. |
I'm an agent. Most carriers can cover albums, etc under a fine arts rider. Negotiate the rate given your exposure. Have a maximum per album limit and a total limit for your collection. The benefit by scheduling this stuff is that there is no debate at the time of loss and there is no deductible. |
State Farm covers my collection as long as you have documentation of worth. A rider attached to the policy covers my collection. I made a database using Excel, some go as far as to take a pic of front and back of album covers. |
I just upgrade my home insurance. I figure that despite me being Canadian, it will be pretty close. I was told by my agent that, like others posting above, the overall personal property value would cover the cost of the collection if and only if 1) the policy amount was sufficient (of course) and 2) if I had a very accurate record.
I do have an accurate record and it is backed up as well as being stored online. I also have the list checked over by my local high-end dealer from whom I buy most of my records. He knows not only what I have but how much each is worth.
The insurance company offered "replacement value" as a standard because I have other types of insurance with them. The replacement value was very important because it covers the actual cost to replace today if bought new. This goes for my audio gear as well. If I bought something for $5000 then I would be handed either the same unit (if they could find one) or a $5000 cheque.
The key is to have an agent over and in the policy, actually document the limits etc. Then, ask the agent what can be done to hasten a claim recovery payment. For instance, he offered me some really great suggestions on placement of gear, albums etc, which would avoid flood/fire/other negligent damage. Most I had thought of myself but there were a few points at which I was baffled. He told me they like to sell the policies, but no company wants to pay out. This is a co-op so they are better than most but he said ultimately, take as much precaution as possible and follow all of his tips. |
Buconero - did Chubb require you to list every LP, CD, etc. that you own?!
I pray they didn't...
For the value of that collection, that certainly isn't a bad deal.
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I just narrowly averted damage to my LP's when a freak hail storm shattered all of my sky lights and the hail and rain came pouring in. The rack was against the far wall and remained fairly dry except a dose of humidity. I have State Farm and they have been great so far with paying for the damage to the house. I did bump my personal possesion coverage to cover audio related items per my agents recommendation many years ago. |
Mcondo is 100% correct-
Most polices have you select the dollar amount of personal property coverage----should you have a loss, you should be reimbursed for whatever is damaged within those selected limits--replacement cost-so if your 2008 Mofi 200gram is worth, $100, you would get $100
the trick is to purchase adequate limits to cover all your belongings---Don't buy $20,000 in coverage if your cables alone cost $20,000 to replace and expect coverage for your speakers,amps, records, etc..
I have taken video of my entire setup
A good tip is to keep it on a SD card and put it in your wallet----no use having a tape in the house if the house and everything in it burns and destroyed.
A bit off topic, but i recall former LA Laker Kareem Abdul Jabbar's home burned down and he had a priceless Jazz LP collection which he completely lost----always felt bad for him-- |
I just recently did this through State Farm via a personal articles policy added to homeowner's insurance. They will insure just about anything as long as you have receipts/documentation. |
Chubb is a great company to insure the vintage media. The last quote I got from them to insure all my media, 7000 lps, 1500 tapes, 10,000 cds was $960 per year. Replacement value of the collection is $300,000. |
I am an ex insurance claims guy, and I suggest you change your company to one of the majors. There should be no limit on LP's etc in normal policies, only the overall limit on personal property. Claims on such items would be based on their replacement cost - if in fact you do replace them. Herman's comment above is correct. You do need good records so you can help any adjuster document your items - photos, lists, etc are good. |
Simply get a "Rider" as mentioned earlier for any item you have of special worth--only insure it for the replacement cost--NOT the appraised value--the insurance company will try first to replace the item with one of their "many" contacts, or just pay replacement value. Most policies have a normal $5000 max on electronics & jewelry. You must detail & "Rider" everything else above normal policy limits. If your INS company does not do this---change quickly. |
I haven't ever had a claim,but I hear have good pictures of everything,and proof x2,of replacement cost also if it is covered somewhere. |
My policy allows for "musical equipment" under the personal property section - so my guitars and (I assume) stereo equipment is covered.
But LP's, posters, etc. fall under memorabilia or anything where age/history/collectibility makes it valuable.
So a limited edition LP from 2008 wouldn't even be covered. |
My State Farm agent told me that the only limit on art, albums, and stereo was the overall limit for personal belongings. They are not treated like jewelry and guns that do have limits. He said the trick is to have a good record of what you have and an appraisal on anything that is higher than normal in value.
I'll double check now that you 've brought it up though.
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You should be able to get a " Rider " for your contents under your Homeowners Policy..I have had one for years and collected many years ago on a Audio Research SP-8 catching fire ( Telephone pole Transformer blew up on Xmas day ) and torching the unit...I called and had a check for $1200 with 2 weeks.... |
Chubb insurance is terrific for this sort of specialty item. They are expensive but worth it as I had occasion to discover when we had an unfortunate problem in our house. Not affiliated with the company but a very happy customer. |
