Insurance, suggestions please

[Gary D 76]

Having dusted down my collection it is starting to look as thought there might be a few pounds worth there. This has promted me to think that perhaps I should look into a drop of insurance . Any ideas, suggestions etc on this topic.Regards Gary D

[Peter 615]

Hi Gary

It seems to me the only people who benefit out of insurance are the brokers and insurance companies...plenty of money and flash cars.

With coins,prevention is the 1st thing to look at.

You can buy a reletivly cheap safe which can be bolted to a floor for less than the yearly premiums on a collection worth just a few thousand.

Keep your prized possessions in this.

I keep my coins portable.....and NEVER store them all in the same place (I did loose my shillings for about a month )

Obviously if your collection is worth 10's of thousands (like Chris's) insurance premiums wouldn't be a problem.

I do tend to think insurance companies prey on the fear factor.

It is also important on the area you live and accomodation type.

The only insurance I bother with is Cars and House (life insurance is thru work).

At the end of the day its all down to your peace of mind and personal preferences....I will just add up the yearly premiums I'm saving and buy more coins.

[custard1966 1]

You should check whether your coins will be covered by your contents insurance.

I use this company for specialist insurance

http://www.hwint.com/hi/uk/

[Coppers 57]

You should check whether your coins will be covered by your contents insurance.

I use this company for specialist insurance

http://www.hwint.com/hi/uk/

Interesting... I believe that this is one and the same frm that handles collector and dealer insurance for the American Numismatic Association.

[Peter 615]

From memory my Standard House contents insurance covers to 45K with a max £500 per item (this hardly touches latest technology TV's and the like.)....like wise I'm probably under insured....but there again it would have to be a direct hit with a missile to lose everything....a burgler is hardly going to run off down the road with my sofa on his back and then come back for a 42" Plasma TV.

I'm also unsure wether the £500 is per coin (or collection)....what I do know is that if you start listing jewellery etc premiums rocket.

For excessivly rare coins I would have to opt for a bank vault....but this would take a lot of pleasure out of owning and handling the coins.

The whole scenario is down to individual choice and what you are personally happy with.

[Unknown 0]

I know I am a fatalist, but why couldn't a thief have access to insurance companies records to know what house is worth stealing from? They just need to get a job, or someone they know/work with, get a job in an insurance company and then get the records of whoever has some nice, small, valuable and easy things to steel, adn then you become the target just by aproaching a company to get some insurance...

I know, I know, I am too pesimistic and probably watch too much TV, but who knows...

In any case as it was said before, up to your peace of mind.

I personally don't have anything of real value in my colection, but if anyone takes it away for me is not so much going to be the monetary value, almost nothing in my case, but the sentimental value, all those coins/notes that my uncle gave me when I was around 12 or so years old that noone can ever get me back... yes, sure, I could get another sample in better condition of those coins/notes cheaply, but they would not be the ones my uncle gave me...

[Rob 3,000]

You should check whether your coins will be covered by your contents insurance.

My insurer is Liverpool Victoria and they just treat the collection as an add on to the contents insurance. They do have requirements for a certain level of security, but no electric fences are required. Premiums are about 0.5% of sum insured. They are quite good for normal contents insurance too as my policy automatically covers up to about £150K contents irrespective of the actual value, whereas most insurance companies require you to state a figure so they have a number to adjust in the case of a claim. I have never claimed so don't know how good they would be in that instance, but so far the experience has been OK.

[Rob 3,000]

From memory my Standard House contents insurance covers to 45K with a max £500 per item (this hardly touches latest technology TV's and the like.)....like wise I'm probably under insured....but there again it would have to be a direct hit with a missile to lose everything....a burgler is hardly going to run off down the road with my sofa on his back and then come back for a 42" Plasma TV.

I'm also unsure wether the £500 is per coin (or collection)....what I do know is that if you start listing jewellery etc premiums rocket.

For excessivly rare coins I would have to opt for a bank vault....but this would take a lot of pleasure out of owning and handling the coins.

The whole scenario is down to individual choice and what you are personally happy with.

Most contents policies specifically exclude high value items such as jewellery, coins, stamps, antiques etc. The usual limit is a derisory few hundred pounds which as you say doesn't cover the TV these days. I would suspect the £500 is the total collection as contents insurance tends to only cover items found in 90% or more of all households.

[Guest RAM]

I have read the comments made by the contributors regarding insurance - as both an insurance broker and a coin collector for over 30 years i have to say the comments are extremely misleading and only confirms my view that Joe Public do not read their home policy or even understand the terms or conditions.

I cannot comment on the policies provided by the "Direct" Insurers but generally the definition of valuables does not extend to include TV and other electronic equipment and these would be covered for their full repalcement cost. So your 30" plasma will be covered fot the replacement cost- assuming that your contents sum insured is adequate.

However collections such as stamps or coins are defined as valuables and depending on the value of your collection may need to specified on the policy. I would recommend you seek advise from a professional insurance broker who will advise the most suitable policy to meet your requirements as there are several factors that need to be taken into account such as post code - minimum level of security - overall contents sum insured etc.

Everyone will have a story about a bad experience with an insurance claim but in my 30 years as an insurance broker the vast majority of claims are settled to the customers satisfaction.

[krasnaya_vityaz 0]

The best insurance is to not let anyone local know you collect, in fact the very fewest people that know you collect coins the better. I have known people that bragged about their collection to only regret it later whence their home was burglarised.

I have three safe deposit boxes in three different banks. The only valuable coins in my house are the virtual ones on CD-ROMs

[Unknown 0]

Very wise!