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This discussion is geared towards sharing information regarding insurance your collection. Some regular homeowners hazard insurance policies cover collectibles to a certain extent. But, I heard it's really difficult to get reimbursed for the full value of the collection in the event of a total loss. There are individual insurance companies, such as the Collectibles Insurance Agency and American Collectors Insurance, which deal specifically with insuring collectibles. Anyway, I'd like to hear some of your experiences with regular homeowners insurance companies regarding what they say they cover, and also with previous claims you might have filed. I'd also like to hear about any experiences with these specific collectible insurance companies as well! Special thanks to Sheldon Gajarian for the column idea!

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I wish someone would reply to this. I am in the process of getting mine insured right now and really have no idea of who to trust or any feedback regarding what is covered. Thanks
I recently tried to get homeowners insurance to add coverage to my collection. I have a relatively large collection, that my estimate is worth a decent amount of money. My insurance guy said that there isn't an easy way to get it covered because it's very hard to get an accurate value on the goods. We all know that the value of an autograph is only as much as someone is willing to pay. I haven't tried the individiual insurance companies, but would be willing to look into it.
I agree that the real difficulty with regular homeowner's insurance is establishing a solid value for your collection that the insurance company will stand by. So, in general, anything I purchase of decent value (say $20 or $30 on up), I either save the reciepts on my e-mail (if paid through Paypal), or print out the proof of the sale and keep it in a folder in a safe place (incase of fire). You might also want to take photos of the big items in your collection, and also possibly put together a spreadsheet of your collection stating the individual items and also their estimated value. I looked into the Collectibles Insurance companies a few years ago, and I seem to recall that the process was fairly straight forward. They didn't ask for any lists of items, just for me to establish an estimated overall value of my collection, and they determined a premium based on that number. As long as the premium is paid, then the collection is covered. If anyone has any more recent experience with these types of companies, please share!
I carry insurance through a company that specializes in Musical instruments, antiques, and other collectibles. I have an extensive collection and I provide the spreadsheet and values on my items. I specifically cover mostly guitars but I also have  seperate coverage for "memorabilia" which covers many of the rare items including autographed items in my collection, mostly musical or artist related.  The premium I pay is based on so many cents per $100 value of the total amount. The bigger the collection and value the better the rate you get. They also have a minimum amount that you can get. It's an Inland Marine policy, if interested check with an independant agent or pm me for more informaion. I am in the process of adding more to my policy so I'm about to research exctly what else they will cover, such as autographed albums, photos etc. If your collection has great value, it's worth the peace of mind.
http://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/collectable-insurers is a link over in the town square on a few of the more speciality insurers for collectables.

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