Are Your Most Valuable Items Protected?

It’s one of the best Christmas gifts you could ask for. You visit your parents over the holidays, and your father passes the family gun collection to you. The collection consists of several antique firearms that have been have been amassed over the last hundred years and handed down through several generations of your family. You take your treasures home, clean them and then securely protect them with trigger locks and store them safely in a locked gun cabinet. You’ve thought of everything. Or have you?

You may have forgotten one of the most important things: Did you call your insurance agent to add coverage for your collection to your insurance policy? Many people forget this aspect in their excitement over their newly acquired possessions. Many homeowners don’t realize that their most valuable possessions may not even be covered under their current insurance policy, until a loss happens and they find that they are out of luck. This can lead to frustration and disappointment at the very least.

Specialty items such as antiques, firearms, jewelry and other items with a high value can be insured under your personal property coverage on your homeowner’s policy. However, there are usually limits to these coverages. Many homeowners are unsure of these limits, or just accepted the coverage amounts that their insurance agent suggested. In the event of a loss, you are not covered beyond the limits of your policy, and the value of your items can easily exceed standard coverage amounts.

Don’t despair, though. You can purchase additional coverage in the way of an endorsement on your homeowner’s policy. Many companies call this a “scheduled personal property” endorsement. These endorsements cover most personal items that have a high value or those items that may be considered to be irreplaceable.

You may be unsure of the amount of coverage that you have on your homeowner’s policy for these specialty items. The best place to obtain this information is from your policy documents, or give your insurance agent a call to see what your actual coverage amounts are.

Remembrances of Your Military Career: Worthy of Protection

You spent more than twenty years in the military, and retired honorably. During your military career, you amassed a large collection of military challenge coins from all over the world. Some of these were given to you by buddies, some were purchased by you in deployed locations overseas, and some were given to you by your commanders for your stellar service. These coins have a very high value, both sentimental and monetary. But what happens if your home is hit by disaster or someone breaks in and takes everything that you worked so hard for?

Don’t take the risk of not having any coverage on your coin collection, or having too little coverage. Your coin collection should be covered for its total value, even if this value exceeds the coverage amounts on your homeowner’s policy. You can add an endorsement to cover the value of your coins for a minimal additional cost each month. But don’t forget your other valuables when you add coverage for your coins. You should also insure other pieces of your military collection that have a high value. Jewelry and antiques, rugs and artwork are just a few of the things that typically need additional insurance coverage.

Grandma’s Heirlooms: What to Do When You Inherit Family Treasures

It’s something that no one wants to deal with, but it is inevitable in this life. Your grandmother recently passed away, and the family heirlooms were divided among you and your siblings. You received a beautiful set of Civil War-era silver, some dainty china dishes and some valuable books. While these items don’t ease your sorrow, they are valuable pieces of your family’s history and need to be properly protected in case of a loss.

These items are an important part of your heritage. When you inherit such valuable items, it is first imperative that you have them appraised. You can’t obtain proper insurance coverage amounts unless you have an understanding of exactly how much these items are worth. Contact a reputable appraiser and get this information in writing. Your insurance company will likely require a written appraisal to prove the value of the items before you can add proper coverage on your policy.

In addition, you may be required to provide photos to your insurance company. Regardless of whether these photos are required to obtain insurance coverage, you should have pictures of these items for your own records. If you have a good camera and decent photography skills, you can collect the pictures yourself. It may be more cost-effective to take your items to a professional to get high-quality photos made, especially in the case of smaller items, such as jewelry.

Sometimes things just go missing, even though you know the item was in your house. Many valuables, such as jewelry items, are things that you don’t see or handle on a daily basis. These items may stay in storage in a closet, safe or jewelry box. Did you know that some insurance policies don’t cover jewelry and other high value possessions from mysterious losses? However, you have the option to add a special endorsement to your homeowner’s insurance policy to provide coverage in the event that these smaller valuables come up missing due to theft or other issues.

At times, insurance companies are unwilling or unable to insure specialty items. However, it is unwise to leave these items without coverage in the event of a natural disaster or theft. It is important to find a specialty insurance company that can handle these valuable items, so you can rest knowing that your valuables are protected. If you are looking for an insurance company to help you with your specialty coverage needs, give us a call today. Our team of professionals can help you obtain the coverage you want at a price you can afford. Don’t wait until it’s too late to insure your irreplaceable valuables.