Insuring your LEGO collection?

[JPN366]

Does anyone have any advice on this subject? Do you think it would be a wise idea to have your collection covered as an addendum to your home owners insurance policy? Or would be covered automatically under the home owners policy?

[Actor Builder]

Yes, your LEGO collection is most likely covered by your home.

The exception is if you have part of your collection outdoors, or in a separate storage building, or anywhere besides your home.

In that case, your home is no longer covering your collection.

As for insurance, I have no idea.

[danth]

Actually most home owners insurances won't cover collections. I have insurance through Collectibles Insurance Services.

[Actor Builder]

Actually most home owners insurances won't cover collections. I have insurance through Collectibles Insurance Services.

No, home insurances might not.

Homes, however will cover a collection quite nicely.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Actor Builder

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

Actually most home owners insurances won't cover collections. I have insurance through Collectibles Insurance Services.

How does that work? Do you provide them with an inventory of what you have or something?

[Hinckley]

Does anyone have any advice on this subject? Do you think it would be a wise idea to have your collection covered as an addendum to your home owners insurance policy? Or would be covered automatically under the home owners policy?

Mine is insured. I just told them I have "a collection" and gave it a value. They will insure pretty much anything you assign a value to. It was basically "additional insurance".

Actually most home owners insurances won't cover collections. I have insurance through Collectibles Insurance Services.

This is not my experience, but I have Travelers and I'm located in the US in Chicago, IL.

[Wardancer]

My insurance one told me that if you cut off the roof of your house and turn the house around, everything that would fall out is covered by insurance.

[Hinckley]

My insurance one told me that if you cut off the roof of your house and turn the house around, everything that would fall out is covered by insurance.

This is basically the way I understood it to work as well. I put an additional amount on top of the normal policy. I pay a premium for the amount I insured it for and they give me the amount I insured my LEGO collection for in case there is any damage to it. If you pay your insurance company monthly, they'll insure what you need protected... I'm sure there are some exceptions but I've yet to hear an insurance company wouldn't insure a LEGO collection.

[rodiziorobs]

You may be covered without additional insurance, but if you ever had to file a claim it would be on you to provide evidence of its worth.

You could say "$4000 worth of Lego was destroyed in a fire" just as easily as you could say you had millions of dollars cash destroyed. If you can't prove it, it will be hard to get your claim honored.

Even if you don't plan on insuring it separately, it is good to keep an itemized list of sets you have* to provide an estimate of value and replacement cost, should anything ever happen. Also, if you have a large collection I wouldn't expect your homeowners policy to cover most of it unless it's specifically listed on your policy.

*Whether dismantled or built, as long as sets are complete the replacement cost is comparable, unless of course you have some MISB sets. I am not sure of the best way to inventory PAB buys or Bricklink lots, unless you keep receipts or something (I haven't been). I need to update my inventory list...

[deraven]

Yes, when I looked into it for my collection, it was basically what rodiziorobs said- our general homeowner's policy will of course cover personal possessions, but it has limits on different categories of items. They'll replace electronics, for instance, but only up to $50,000. Probably fine, but if you go to them after a disaster and say you had an Apple I signed by Wozniak and Jobs worth $250,000, even with proof of that they'll only pay the $50K max coverage.

So, they might classify Lego as general "hobby" items or "toys" or who knows what, but if you have a huge collection and the category it falls under (or the total policy amount minus all your other possessions that also need to be paid out) doesn't have sufficient coverage, you're out of luck regardless of your documentation... which is why a separate rider or policy for a large collection is a good idea.

I was asked to have a general inventory (the more detailed the better, of course) and some photographic documentation of the collection, then picked a coverage amount based on that data which included general set inventory, bulk Lego, and special items like higher-value individual MISB sets. Essentially what was expressed to me was that the inventory/documentation didn't need to be 100% perfect, but if I took out $50,000 of Lego coverage and then after a fire or something said, "Yeah, my whole collection melted into this big puddle of plastic. I need that full $50K to replace it" they'd need sufficient evidence of the loss to pay out the appropriate amount instead of it being undervalued or even seen as a possibly fraudulent claim.

[SassQueen]

Resurrecting this topic, rather than starting a new one.

Has anyone had experience insuring their Lego collection through their homeowner's (or similar) policy?  My collection is worth less than this $50k limit mentioned above, but is probably getting up there in terms of what I would be able to easily replace if there was some kind of break in or weather event.

Did you itemize your larger/more collectible sets?  Save receipts (including eBay)?  Keep a running estimate of current value?

[zux]

If you have all your collection stored on Rebrickable, there is an option to check estimated overall value of your parts and sets. It is based on some Bricklink/Brickowl item market value.

[sed6]

Most home and renters insurance policies in the US limit your coverage for collectibles or toys to $2500, with Lego being considered both. As such you'll need to purchase additional coverage from your insurance provider. This I usually called a rider or scheduling property (the terms are synonymous). Lego would be scheduled as a fine art (the catch all category for insurance companies). Good news is fine arts coverage is cheap and even $50k in extra coverage won't cost you that much extra. 

[Peppermint_M]

I spoke to a family friend who is in insurance and he told me that home insurance covered it (he was surprised at the not insignificant value of my collection). But this is in the UK. As close to a comprehensive inventory as possible is best.

[Anonknee Muss]

On 7 May 2018 at 10:28 AM, Peppermint_M said:

I spoke to a family friend who is in insurance and he told me that home insurance covered it (he was surprised at the not insignificant value of my collection). But this is in the UK. As close to a comprehensive inventory as possible is best.

Do we need to prove it with photographs or literally just a list?

[Peppermint_M]

I have a mix, I have photos of the items in-situ and the inventory on rebrickable.

[Anonknee Muss]

10 hours ago, Peppermint_M said:

I have a mix, I have photos of the items in-situ and the inventory on rebrickable.

Thanks! 

[ShaydDeGrai]

On May 9, 2018 at 5:30 PM, J4ck said:

Do we need to prove it with photographs or literally just a list?

I asked an agent this a couple year's back and her recommendation was to photograph everything (original box, instruction manual and model w/ figures clearly shown or the sealed box with unbroken seals clearly visible for Mint-in-Box claims) along with some "anchor" reference (like a driver's license) in every photo to prove that you were photographing _your_ set not just pulling a photo off the internet.  Then back that up with a spreadsheet showing the set number, original purchase price, date of purchase and last known appraisal (which I got from a mix of BrickPicker.com and Bricklink - _asking_ prices on sites like eBay don't count, the appraisal has to be based on actual sales).  Periodically backup your database to CD/DVD-R and stick it in a safety deposit box at a bank or other off site storage (friend or relative's house, desk at work whatever).

Raw parts (other than minifigs) are a lot harder to prove value and, I'm told, when it comes to 'toys' most policies just take your word that you lost _something_ then cap how much they'll compensate you without hard proof.  This cap is usually pretty low (2-3k) compared to the actual replacement cost.

In my experience, when it comes to dealing with insurance companies, unless you have solid proof of a loss, they are very slow to compensate you.  Years ago we had a brick chimney fall over in a hurricane.  It went through the roof, collapsed a ceiling, destroyed some bedroom furniture and the debris damaged the hardwood floors.  Then, because it left a big hole exposed to the elements for the balance of the storm, clothes, bedding, curtains, artwork, etc. in the room got serious water damage.  Afterwards, we did a quick repair to the roof with just some plywood and tar paper to limit further damage, but when the insurance adjuster looked at things he wanted to reimburse us for the cost of the patch (about $200) and consider the matter closed.  He claimed that if we'd maintained the (150 year old) chimney properly it wouldn't have blown over in 140mph winds; if the mortar was weak enough to allow the chimney to tip over it was something we would have had to replace eventually anyway, so replacing the chimney was a maintenance issue not an insurance one.  Further, he said that we didn't have _proof_ that all the things damaged in the bedroom (including the ceiling and floor) were actually in the room and in good condition at the time of the chimney collapse, therefore those could be unrelated/unrecoverable damages that we'd simply 'staged' to milk the claim (this accusation came as he was standing in front of a dripping wet mattress covered in bricks and debris with his own footprints being the only sign of human intervention at the site).  We argued, threatened to sue and he decided he'd throw in $50 for a new coat of paint to cover the water stains on the walls.  In the end, we _did_ hire a lawyer, spent around $2000 in legal fees and the insurance company eventually settled out of court for ~$35,000 (but in the mean time we had to front all of our repair and replacement costs out of pocket (i.e. second mortgage), saving all of our receipts and job estimates from contractors (including the ones we didn't hire just to prove we didn't go with the most expensive bid), and it took over a year to get reimbursed).  

So the moral of the story is, don't assume that even if you have coverage, the insurance company will be on your side.  The burden of proof is on you to prove loss and even when the magnitude of the loss seems obvious to you, remember that the adjuster works for the people who have to cut the check, not you.  They will argue depreciation, authenticity, chain of custody, pre-existing condition, etc. to low-ball the settlement and the best way to defend yourself is to be as organized, knowledgable and well documented as possible (and willing to follow through if you threaten to sue - I'm willing to bet they get threats all the time, but when an actual lawyer calls them, they start paying attention).

[Anonknee Muss]

1 hour ago, ShaydDeGrai said:

I asked an agent this a couple year's back and her recommendation was to photograph everything (original box, instruction manual and model w/ figures clearly shown or the sealed box with unbroken seals clearly visible for Mint-in-Box claims) along with some "anchor" reference (like a driver's license) in every photo to prove that you were photographing _your_ set not just pulling a photo off the internet.  Then back that up with a spreadsheet showing the set number, original purchase price, date of purchase and last known appraisal (which I got from a mix of BrickPicker.com and Bricklink - _asking_ prices on sites like eBay don't count, the appraisal has to be based on actual sales).  Periodically backup your database to CD/DVD-R and stick it in a safety deposit box at a bank or other off site storage (friend or relative's house, desk at work whatever).

Raw parts (other than minifigs) are a lot harder to prove value and, I'm told, when it comes to 'toys' most policies just take your word that you lost _something_ then cap how much they'll compensate you without hard proof.  This cap is usually pretty low (2-3k) compared to the actual replacement cost.

In my experience, when it comes to dealing with insurance companies, unless you have solid proof of a loss, they are very slow to compensate you.  Years ago we had a brick chimney fall over in a hurricane.  It went through the roof, collapsed a ceiling, destroyed some bedroom furniture and the debris damaged the hardwood floors.  Then, because it left a big hole exposed to the elements for the balance of the storm, clothes, bedding, curtains, artwork, etc. in the room got serious water damage.  Afterwards, we did a quick repair to the roof with just some plywood and tar paper to limit further damage, but when the insurance adjuster looked at things he wanted to reimburse us for the cost of the patch (about $200) and consider the matter closed.  He claimed that if we'd maintained the (150 year old) chimney properly it wouldn't have blown over in 140mph winds; if the mortar was weak enough to allow the chimney to tip over it was something we would have had to replace eventually anyway, so replacing the chimney was a maintenance issue not an insurance one.  Further, he said that we didn't have _proof_ that all the things damaged in the bedroom (including the ceiling and floor) were actually in the room and in good condition at the time of the chimney collapse, therefore those could be unrelated/unrecoverable damages that we'd simply 'staged' to milk the claim (this accusation came as he was standing in front of a dripping wet mattress covered in bricks and debris with his own footprints being the only sign of human intervention at the site).  We argued, threatened to sue and he decided he'd throw in $50 for a new coat of paint to cover the water stains on the walls.  In the end, we _did_ hire a lawyer, spent around $2000 in legal fees and the insurance company eventually settled out of court for ~$35,000 (but in the mean time we had to front all of our repair and replacement costs out of pocket (i.e. second mortgage), saving all of our receipts and job estimates from contractors (including the ones we didn't hire just to prove we didn't go with the most expensive bid), and it took over a year to get reimbursed).  

So the moral of the story is, don't assume that even if you have coverage, the insurance company will be on your side.  The burden of proof is on you to prove loss and even when the magnitude of the loss seems obvious to you, remember that the adjuster works for the people who have to cut the check, not you.  They will argue depreciation, authenticity, chain of custody, pre-existing condition, etc. to low-ball the settlement and the best way to defend yourself is to be as organized, knowledgable and well documented as possible (and willing to follow through if you threaten to sue - I'm willing to bet they get threats all the time, but when an actual lawyer calls them, they start paying attention).

This is awesome knowledge! Thanks friend!

[sed6]

What CrackerJack insurance company did you have?

[fred67]

@sed6 , I can't answer the question, but frankly they are all pretty much like that.  There may be exceptions to the rules, but most adjusters get bonuses for NOT paying out claims.