Insuring your cards

Andylejeune

What do ya'll do about insuring your cards? Or do you insure your cards? I have asked my insurance company about it, and they basically say you should put them in a lock box at a bank. I have Safe's that I keep my more valuable ones in. But not sure how that would hold up to a fire, even though they are fire rated.

brad31

I insure with Collect Insure and have for years. Easy to deal with on the getting policy side. I have never had a claim so cannot speak to how well the insurance works if something happens.

mintonlypls

Mine are in a safe deposit box. I occasionally handle them…but most of the time, I use Collector Focus to view my collection online.

Copyboy1

A second on this post. Collect Insure is really easy.

@brad31 said:
I insure with Collect Insure and have for years. Easy to deal with on the getting policy side. I have never had a claim so cannot speak to how well the insurance works if something happens.

BBBrkrr

@mintonlypls said:
Mine are in a safe deposit box. I occasionally handle them…but most of the time, I use Collector Focus to view my collection online.

That's a great idea most of the time. I'd double up.

We have friends who lost their houses this past week in the fires. They were able to get in and get a handful of stuff including their safe deposit key. Of course their bank burned to the ground including the contents of all the boxes.

mintonlypls

Sorry to hear about the devastating loss by your friends…

pdoidoi

@BBBrkrr said:

@mintonlypls said:
Mine are in a safe deposit box. I occasionally handle them…but most of the time, I use Collector Focus to view my collection online.

That's a great idea most of the time. I'd double up.

We have friends who lost their houses this past week in the fires. They were able to get in and get a handful of stuff including their safe deposit key. Of course their bank burned to the ground including the contents of all the boxes.

Wow, their bank was burned to the ground. Was it made by the 3 little pigs. I thought banks were made special and could handle that kind of stuff. I thought banks were made of bricks and cement, you know the stuff that does not burn. I would think that their vault would stand strong.
Boy that does suck.

BBBrkrr

@pdoidoi said:

@BBBrkrr said:

@mintonlypls said:
Mine are in a safe deposit box. I occasionally handle them…but most of the time, I use Collector Focus to view my collection online.

That's a great idea most of the time. I'd double up.

We have friends who lost their houses this past week in the fires. They were able to get in and get a handful of stuff including their safe deposit key. Of course their bank burned to the ground including the contents of all the boxes.

Wow, their bank was burned to the ground. Was it made by the 3 little pigs. I thought banks were made special and could handle that kind of stuff. I thought banks were made of bricks and cement, you know the stuff that does not burn. I would think that their vault would stand strong.
Boy that does suck.

We all thought that too. It is not the case at all.

Andylejeune

Sorry to hear that about the fire. I will reach out to Collect insure. I have been trying to find a way to insure mine for years. But with all the California fires, it sure makes me want to try a little harder.

Groo

@pdoidoi said:

@BBBrkrr said:

@mintonlypls said:
Mine are in a safe deposit box. I occasionally handle them…but most of the time, I use Collector Focus to view my collection online.

That's a great idea most of the time. I'd double up.

We have friends who lost their houses this past week in the fires. They were able to get in and get a handful of stuff including their safe deposit key. Of course their bank burned to the ground including the contents of all the boxes.

Wow, their bank was burned to the ground. Was it made by the 3 little pigs. I thought banks were made special and could handle that kind of stuff. I thought banks were made of bricks and cement, you know the stuff that does not burn. I would think that their vault would stand strong.
Boy that does suck.

Even if as you say you would get an oven or kiln effect in the bank. The shell of building itself might remain but all paper inside will incinerate rather quickly. Remember paper turns to fire at a mere 451F

energyrater1

@BBBrkrr said:

@mintonlypls said:
Mine are in a safe deposit box. I occasionally handle them…but most of the time, I use Collector Focus to view my collection online.

That's a great idea most of the time. I'd double up.

We have friends who lost their houses this past week in the fires. They were able to get in and get a handful of stuff including their safe deposit key. Of course their bank burned to the ground including the contents of all the boxes.

Yeah, was wondering just how many '52 mantles were lost!

bgr

In-Concrete floor safe is my recommendation for this purpose.. There are specifications for fire-resistance. I know a few people who use CIS, and I have looked into them, but I just schedule the items I care about on my insurance policy. I haven't heard whether anyone has needed to file a claim with CIS and how well that was handled -- That is something I am curious about.

coinspacks

I have been trying to find stories of collectibles lost in the CA fires...all I found was Mel Gibson lost his hard cover book collection spanning back 500 years .

sayheywyo

I wonder how much Collect insure charges per 1000, for like a 250K policy? Do collectors insure their whole collection or just the more valuable and harder to replace items? Asking for a friend......

BBBrkrr

With the amount of money these folks had the loss in artwork, collectibles, antiques, etc... is going to be catastrophic. It's horrifying just from our friends and what they lost.

brad31

Honestly being> @sayheywyo said:

I wonder how much Collect insure charges per 1000, for like a 250K policy? Do collectors insure their whole collection or just the more valuable and harder to replace items? Asking for a friend......

It depends on a lot of factors. I know pay more living in Chicago than a friend of mine who lives in the suburbs. I have my entire collection insured. I do not know how you could do partial because you only itemize amounts over a certain dollar value which is very high.

Andylejeune

@sayheywyo said:
I wonder how much Collect insure charges per 1000, for like a 250K policy? Do collectors insure their whole collection or just the more valuable and harder to replace items? Asking for a friend......

I got a quote from CI for about 1200 / year for 350K of coverage. Not sure if I meet all their requirements yet. But it is a starting point.

mintonlypls

Safe deposit box at bank costs me $75/year….and it’s a big box.

Kepper19

@BBBrkrr said:

@pdoidoi said:

@BBBrkrr said:

@mintonlypls said:
Mine are in a safe deposit box. I occasionally handle them…but most of the time, I use Collector Focus to view my collection online.

That's a great idea most of the time. I'd double up.

We have friends who lost their houses this past week in the fires. They were able to get in and get a handful of stuff including their safe deposit key. Of course their bank burned to the ground including the contents of all the boxes.

Wow, their bank was burned to the ground. Was it made by the 3 little pigs. I thought banks were made special and could handle that kind of stuff. I thought banks were made of bricks and cement, you know the stuff that does not burn. I would think that their vault would stand strong.
Boy that does suck.

We all thought that too. It is not the case at all.

every time I see a natural disaster these days, in addition to the safety of the people, I always wonder how many cards/collectibles got ruined...hurricanes, fires, tornados -- they all have to be ruining so many collectibles every year...

Kepper19

@mintonlypls said:
Safe deposit box at bank costs me $75/year….

cheap enough, but probably would only hold 40 graded cards?

Canes8387899101

@Kepper19 said:

@mintonlypls said:
Safe deposit box at bank costs me $75/year….

cheap enough, but probably would only hold 40 graded cards?

My Safe Deposit Box has about 400 graded cards in it. Forgot the exact dimensions, but my credit union has extra large boxes. Well worth it.

82FootballWaxMemorys

Depends on area of the US. Where space is at a premium the boxes cost more for smaller.

Bank Deposit boxes are fine , but realize their primary, if not sole, function is safeguard against theft. Protection from other factors requires other solutions.

P.S. Law Enforcement can seize Deposit boxes. A warrant are usually required, but sometimes a simple subpoena , issued by a court clerk and not a judge, will suffice. Thus less legal protection than in your home.

Estil

The trickiest part is the sentimental value. I have many fond memories tied to some of the card sets and video games and so on I have collected so if (GOD FORBID) something were to happen and they got destroyed or lost or something...even if I could technically replace it, it just wouldn't be quite the same

Cakes

I had a SDB for a couple years and it sucked not being to see my cards more.

I would assume a Bank is designed to withstand a normal fire but a large wildfire that encompasses the entire building is a different story.

When you get the insurance policy does that also cover you when you ship valuable cards?

coinspacks

Collect insure does cover shipping insurance but mostly when you request signature confirm

82FootballWaxMemorys

@Cakes said:
I had a SDB for a couple years and it sucked not being to see my cards more.

I would assume a Bank is designed to withstand a normal fire but a large wildfire that encompasses the entire building is a different story.

When you get the insurance policy does that also cover you when you ship valuable cards?

Most Bank Vaults are Fire Resistant not Fire Proof. Huge difference.

Remember the Bank can prove what CASH they had in a vault that is consumed by fire and the Government merely issue them fresh paper to replace destroyed currency. Thus the Bank are not very concerned and most cases only have the vaults themselves constructed to meet minimum federal requirements. Also in many places Deposit Boxes are "loss leaders". In my area many banks have simply eliminated them.

As correctly mentioned above:

@Groo said: an oven or kiln effect in the bank [Vault] [will occur]... all paper inside [inside safe deposit boxes] will incinerate rather quickly. Remember paper turns to fire at a mere 451F

horseyride

I just quoted Collect Insure and my primary issue with them is being secondary coverage to my homeowners

mintonlypls

My main concern , if stored at home, is theft. I sleep well at night knowing that my cards are in a safe deposit box at a bank.

pdoidoi

@mintonlypls said:
My main concern , if stored at home, is theft. I sleep well at night knowing that my cards are in a safe deposit box at a bank.

Get a dog or 2 if you do not already have.

mrmopar

After you give proper consideration to the much more important things like loss of life, homes and such, because if you think of possessions in times like these it comes across insensitive, but I am often left wondering just how much rare and unique collectible stuff is destroyed in various disasters across the world. Floods, fires, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, mudslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, etc.
When you think that some things are vary rare or limited and many times the exact whereabouts of some of these things are secretly hidden in personal collections.

I don't think I would affect the sports memorabilia world if my place was destroyed, but it would sure end my collecting and be a damn shame.

I don't remember the person (it was some sort of star/celebrity), but I did see a little snippet about someone in California who lost their home and baseball cards was mentioned as being one of the things that was lost.

it's sad to think about.

RufussCkingston

@BBBrkrr said:

@mintonlypls said:
Mine are in a safe deposit box. I occasionally handle them…but most of the time, I use Collector Focus to view my collection online.

That's a great idea most of the time. I'd double up.

We have friends who lost their houses this past week in the fires. They were able to get in and get a handful of stuff including their safe deposit key. Of course their bank burned to the ground including the contents of all the boxes.

The Vaults are still there... It is just a matter of how much of an oven they became!

RufussCkingston

@bgr said:
In-Concrete floor safe is my recommendation for this purpose.. There are specifications for fire-resistance. I know a few people who use CIS, and I have looked into them, but I just schedule the items I care about on my insurance policy. I haven't heard whether anyone has needed to file a claim with CIS and how well that was handled -- That is something I am curious about.

I filed a claim with CIS for a missing box and a tampered box returned from CGC/SGC years ago. I got PSA auction result values. Easy peasy! The claim is actually handled by the underlying insurance who cuts the check, not CIS as they are more of a middleman. Sort of like Progressive is really a front for other insurers who underwrite their policies in some circumstances.

RufussCkingston

@sayheywyo said:
I wonder how much Collect insure charges per 1000, for like a 250K policy? Do collectors insure their whole collection or just the more valuable and harder to replace items? Asking for a friend......

I know for the basic $25k I pay $167

RufussCkingston

@coinspacks said:
Collect insure does cover shipping insurance but mostly when you request signature confirm

Yes they do. It is based on "class"

Cakes

@pdoidoi said:

@mintonlypls said:
My main concern , if stored at home, is theft. I sleep well at night knowing that my cards are in a safe deposit box at a bank.

Get a dog or 2 if you do not already have.

I remember hearing that owning a dog reduces the chance to 1%.

miwlvrn

I have a Collect Insure policy. I had an item sell at about $4k to a buyer in the UK. Tracking of the item disappeared after it cleared the US customs and continued on to UK. Buyer claimed they didn't receive it. So, ebay took the funds from my account and sent them back to the buyer as a refund because the buyer protection plan on their system doesn't cover foreign shipments over $2k or something like that. Tried fighting ebay on that to no avail., even though it was obviously not my fault. No way to know if he did get it but claimed he didn't because UK hadn't updated the tracking on their end. Collect Insure covered my claim for the full sales amount plus the shipping fees which were an additional amount approx $50. Claim processing was polite, quick and seamless. I'm not sure every policy they offer covers your items during shipment or not. I suggest you make sure that the items are covered when you send them out, not just in your own home or storage facility, whether you're shipping to PSA for grading, or if you sell or purchase an item inbound or outbound. From my experience, I definitely recommend their services 100%.

ElMagoStrikeZone

@pdoidoi said:

@mintonlypls said:
My main concern , if stored at home, is theft. I sleep well at night knowing that my cards are in a safe deposit box at a bank.

Get a dog or 2 if you do not already have.

I have a dog. Great security. I also used to have a mail slot which fed directly into....his mouth.

I recently had a card delivered and it got destroyed, nothing too enormous, just a really nice Gretzky card. Dang. (don't worry folks, it wasn't an OPC Rookie). We've since corrected the problem by relocating the box.

BBBrkrr

@Cakes said:

@pdoidoi said:

@mintonlypls said:
My main concern , if stored at home, is theft. I sleep well at night knowing that my cards are in a safe deposit box at a bank.

Get a dog or 2 if you do not already have.

I remember hearing that owning a dog reduces the chance to 1%.

Not any of my dogs!

We had our house burglarized about 10 years ago. Our dog at the time (RIP) would bark at anything she saw on walks or anyone she thought was coming inside. When I arrived home to find our house empty she was chilling in the backyard on the lounge sofa.

Our new one is such an idiot that she'd probably go with the burglars when they left.