I have insured mine through Farm Bureau Insurance. I pay $200 a year for $25,000 worth of Insurance. All I needed to do was write out a price for each item and take pictures for the underwriters to look at and that was it.

Hope this helps.

James

Thanks for the contribution James... I wonder if they want you to write what the item is worth or what you paid for it... Do you have any further insight on this James?
$200 seems pretty reasonable for the piece of mind. I will have to check this out.

Hi Chris,

I can share my experience. I have a personal Articles Policy from State Farm that is attached to other insurance policies I have through them. The cost of the policy is simple: it costs $10 per $1,000 of coverage on an annual basis. So, say $50,000 worth of coverage coasts $500 per year.

When I initially set up the policy, I just had to make a generic list. I put down "100 signed baseball 8x10's valued at $1000". Later, the insurer requested that I itemized every item with a replacement value next to each item. I was not required to get an appraisal for the valuations, I decided the coverage I was placing on the item. The most tedious part of this process is getting started. I did a lengthy word perfect document with different headings like signed programs, ticket stubs, signed mini helmets, signed Goal Line Art cards, etc. for organization purposes. You do not have to list everything in your collection, just what you are insuring. You can list everything if you wish to have a "Master List" and just put "not insuring" next to the items that do not require any coverage.

I was not required to put down the price I paid for the item, only the replacement value that I was insuring it for. I am not a computer expert but I know there are spread sheets and computer programs available that collectors can utilze. You can insert different types of headings like "date acquired", "seller", "price paid", or whatever notations you want for your personal tastes. Interestingly, my policy also covers my items if I take them(away from home) out to a show and they get stolen. You ofcourse would have to have documentation of that via a police report .

I printed out the list , sent it in and started paying the policy when I was billed. I also invited my agent to my house to personally view the items if he wanted, they have not taken me up on my offer. In addition, I printed out a "working copy" and wrote on it that this list was up to date through say 7/2007. I would then make hand written additions and subtractions on the list as I bought and sold things. If something increased in value or decreased in value, I made a hand written annotation on this "working list". Ultimately, you should submit a revised list every once in a while to show additions, subtractions, and value changes.

Computers can crash so I recommend keeping a copy of the list in a safe place(your insurer obviously will have a back up copy too). The master list can also be helpful resource when doing your estate planning.

Fire proof safe? Not a bad idea, I would put items in the safe that I felt would be irreplaceable and devasting to lose in a personal nature. Many of the safes are waterproof and fireproof, I would spend the extra bucks and get a quality one. The safe could be used for other items too(birth certificate, family photos, jewelry, family heirlooms, etc).

Another idea that I have considered is simply renting or borrowing a video camera. You can open a book of 300 signed 8x10's and flip page by page catching all the items on tape. I would make two copies of the video, one for the insurer and one for you , maybe throw that video in the safe. You can plop that tape or DVD into your big screen TV and start to make a hand written list as you are watching the video. This can make it easier than documenting each item as you manually flip through a book of collectibles.

With all this being said, different insurers have different rules, documentation requirements, prices and coverage details. I would contact you insurer and inquire as to what their rules are for a personal article rider attachment to your current policy. There are certain insurers that just insure collectibles but I would first inquire with your present insurer. You may be eligible for a multi line policy deduction and the coverage may in fact be cheaper and just as good as any of the specialized memorabilia insurers.

Imagine if the house burned down and you had zero coverage. If collectors have no coverage, they are exposing themselves to total loss. It is like putting your entire collection out to the curb for the garbage man to pick up. If you have no coverage, that compounds the devastation factor. If I never have to make a claim, that is awesome. If I do have to file a claim, it is nice to know I have taken contingency steps to protect myself.

Hope this helps.