Is my collection covered?
For many of us, collecting is built into our
DNA. Collecting takes on many forms from Stamps,
Coins, Postcards, Steins, Military and many
other pursuits. All of them give us pleasure
when purchasing, building our collections,
showing them to others, organizing and just
sitting down and looking at it. Many people feel
that their homeowners policy will cover them in
an event of a loss. Unfortunately, that can be a
mistake that is revealed after a loss. If you
have a homeowners policy, there is some coverage
but it is limited. First, it is based on "face
value", so if you purchased the first United
States stamp, Scott #1, for $400 the insurance
company looks at that as a 5 cent stamp. In
another example, the Morgan Silver Dollar is
worth $1 to the insurance company, not the $40
plus it really cost. Not only are they valued
that way, there is also a limit as to how much
would be covered - $200 to $1000 total depending
on what is lost.
How do we get the real value for our collections
in the event of a loss? A policy that you can
purchase for your collectibles, jewelry, etc. is
a Personal Articles Policy. These policies
insure for the real value of your collection
based on appraisals and inventory list. The
American Philatelic Society
https://stamps.org/services/insurance
recommends a company
that can insure your collections, or you might
call your local insurance agent. Many of them
offer this type of policy and can offer
different options for your protection. These
policies also have better coverage for losses.
The time to have coverage on your collection is
before it is needed.