Need more insurance than just my renters

Collectibles Insurance Services provides insurance specifically for firearms collections, I talked with them in the last year and they do not require an inventory or information on specific guns unless a claim is made.

Ewlyon- then how do you know what your coverage is: full value, or replacement only, or acceptable substitute? Do they refund up front or do you have to go out of pocket tjen file for reimbursement?

Eastern's historic firearms policy has me covered:

https://www.easterninsurance.com/insurance-quotes/personal-insurance/historic-firearms

You do not have to provide serial numbers.

I have Eastern, same as @ColtPythonElite . They're competitive, and seem quite competent so far.

I would really like to have some firsthand data from someone who's actually received a check from them, but haven't found that for any insurer.

Here is my advice. Instead of paying money for insurance on my guns I'd rather put it into a better security system. It is a lot easier, and cheaper to just prevent them from being stolen in the 1st place. Having to deal with stolen guns is a PITA with everything from LE to the insurance company. I've had a couple stolen over the years and never filed an insurance claim on either. For one thing the deductible was more than the value of either gun and it simply raises too many reg flags on your file at the insurance company. Many of my guns have more sentimental value than monetary. If stolen that can't be replaced at any dollar amount.

Insurance companies don't like to pay off on theft or fire claims. A significant number of them are fraud and they figure most of the rest should be preventable. In other words you will be labeled as a high risk to be insured and you'll see your rates increase if not have your policy cancelled. One of my stolen guns was recovered. If I'd filed a claim the gun would have then belonged to the insurance company and it would have been an ever bigger PITA to get it back from them.

If you're concerned about losing them in a fire, flood, or similar disaster just make you have enough personal property coverage in your homeowners or renters insurance policy to include the guns. This way you'll get one check for everything you lose, with enough to cover the guns without ever having to list them separately.

This who I use, they are easy to do business with and reasonable on their prices!

ewlyon said:

Collectibles Insurance Services provides insurance specifically for firearms collections, I talked with them in the last year and they do not require an inventory or information on specific guns unless a claim is made.

Click to expand...

I agree with jmr40, better security and or a safe would probably be money better spent. Very highly valued collectable guns may be worth insuring, I don't know.
If I was renting my extra cash would be going towards a place of my own rather than more guns and insurance.

From my experience, the cost of the insurance was not worth the protection from buying a very well made, very massive safe with excellent fire ratings. I was trying to insure around $30K of firearms, instead I upgraded my safes and called it a day.

jmr40 said:

Here is my advice. Instead of paying money for insurance on my guns I'd rather put it into a better security system. It is a lot easier, and cheaper to just prevent them from being stolen in the 1st place.

Click to expand...

Oh yeah? Tell that to the numerous gun stores that have great security system and the thieves ram a truck through the front window and grab what they can in under two minutes.
Tell that to two of my customers who had alarm systems and lost unsecured guns.

Why? In the two minutes it takes to kick in your back door, run throughout your house and grabbing everything of value......your security company is calling you to check if the alarm is valid before they dispatch police. Then the police dispatcher will notify officers of an alarm call.......but the popo aren't going to speed to the scene with sirens and lights ablaze. No, a security alarm is a low priority call.

"Security" needs to be in layers....an alarm system, nosy neighbors, barking dogs, a safe.........and a good insurance policy.

Having to deal with stolen guns is a PITA with everything from LE to the insurance company. I've had a couple stolen over the years and never filed an insurance claim on either. For one thing the deductible was more than the value of either gun and it simply raises too many reg flags on your file at the insurance company. Many of my guns have more sentimental value than monetary. If stolen that can't be replaced at any dollar amount.

Click to expand...

If your deductible was more than the value of the gun you didn't have the right policy with the right insurance company.

Insurance companies don't like to pay off on theft or fire claims. A significant number of them are fraud and they figure most of the rest should be preventable. In other words you will be labeled as a high risk to be insured and you'll see your rates increase if not have your policy cancelled.

Click to expand...

If you are talking about homeowners insurance....you are correct. But firearm specific insurance isn't the same as homeowners and I've yet to hear of someone disatisfied with Collectibles.

One of my stolen guns was recovered. If I'd filed a claim the gun would have then belonged to the insurance company and it would have been an ever bigger PITA to get it back from them.

Click to expand...

Well, what do you want......the gun or the $$$$ ? You don't get both. In the case of one of my customers his firearm insurance covered replacement value. So he replaced each of his stolen guns. Several months later a PD thirty miles away recovered two of the guns and called my customer to come pick them up. His choice at that point to keep the original or keep the replacement.

If you're concerned about losing them in a fire, flood, or similar disaster just make you have enough personal property coverage in your homeowners or renters insurance policy to include the guns. This way you'll get one check for everything you lose, with enough to cover the guns without ever having to list them separately.

Click to expand...

Homeowners or renters insurance most likely will have very limited coverage for firearms. Even paying for extra coverage is more expensive than getting a stand alone firearm policy.

Besides the good companies listed above, you could just ask your current provider for an additional rider for the amount you want.

beeenbag said:

From my experience, the cost of the insurance was not worth the protection from buying a very well made, very massive safe with excellent fire ratings. I was trying to insure around $30K of firearms, instead I upgraded my safes and called it a day.

Click to expand...

Ever seen guns in a safe after a fire? I have.
They didn't burn, the ammo didn't explode, the important papers and documents didn't burn.........but the guns were ruined. Rusted. Nasty.
An "excellent fire rating" doesn't mean what you think it means. The material used for fireproofing your safe may be plain old drywall...gypsum board.........as it heats it will start steaming your guns. See: https://www.secureitgunstorage.com/gun-safe-corrosion/

I have personal property property insurance thru State Farm that isn't tied to my home owner's insurance. This is so I can put as much personal property insurance coverage on it as necessary. And, if I make a claim on it it doesn't affect my home owner's insurance premiums. I've got close to #15G in personal property covered. It really isn't that much.

Fire-rated safes typically use technologies that protects papers and paper currency such as "dogtown tom" mentioned.

I wonder if anyone sells "fire-rated for firearms" gun safes?

So if I get really sick and I get well after the insurance company pays the medical bills, does that mean that they then own me? If my house burns down and my insurance company rebuilds it, does that mean that the insurance company then owns my home? If I have two policies covering my firearms, they are stolen, I get paid by both policies, the guns then get recovered, who owns the guns? I must reflect more on these questions.

jmr40 said:

Here is my advice. Instead of paying money for insurance on my guns I'd rather put it into a better security system. It is a lot easier, and cheaper to just prevent them from being stolen in the 1st place.

Click to expand...

I was going to say something along the same lines. The problem, however, is that living in a rental property means that you don't have 100% control over who comes in, nor can you sometimes make security alterations to the property such as permanently bolting a safe to the subfloor or reinforcing a room to make a strong room. The lease tends to specify what you can do.

dogtown tom said:

Oh yeah? Tell that to the numerous gun stores that have great security system and the thieves ram a truck through the front window and grab what they can in under two minutes.

Click to expand...

Gun stores, by nature, must put guns out there for all the world to see. The individual gun owner's first line of defense should be secrecy. It's hard to maintain secrecy living in a rental property.

One adverse factor in having an insurance policy, for which you have to specify serial numbers and other details of your collection, is that it tends to compromise secrecy. You don't know if some clerk at the insurance company is forwarding the information to her gangsta boyfriend...

If you choose insurance, I strongly recommend replacement insurance instead of actual value. If an item of value is lost, stolen or destroyed, it will save arguing over value. You want enough to replace the item, not what the insurance company thinks you might have gotten selling it. This applies to any item, not just guns.

AlexanderA said:

....One adverse factor in having an insurance policy, for which you have to specify serial numbers and other details of your collection, is that it tends to compromise secrecy. You don't know if some clerk at the insurance company is forwarding the information to her gangsta boyfriend...

Click to expand...

Which is why many recommend Collectibles....no serial#'s required.

johnandersonoutdoors asked:
Any suggestions for a gun policy that I could buy from a different company, to layer on top of my existing renter's insurance policy...

Click to expand...

Adding a rider to your renter's policy is likely to be far more affordable than adding a separate insurance policy.

Adding coverage for my guns cost about an additional $12 a year. I couldn't find a separate policy for anywhere near that price. Plus, I know from prior experience that companies like State Farm, Allstate and USAA actually pay claims. I have no idea whether I would ever see any money from a specialist firm.

hdwhit said:

Adding a rider to your renter's policy is likely to be far more affordable than adding a separate insurance policy.

Adding coverage for my guns cost about an additional $12 a year. I couldn't find a separate policy for anywhere near that price. Plus, I know from prior experience that companies like State Farm, Allstate and USAA actually pay claims. I have no idea whether I would ever see any money from a specialist firm.

Click to expand...

$12 a year? You must not own many guns.

Kendahl said:

If you choose insurance, I strongly recommend replacement insurance instead of actual value.

Click to expand...

If you don't have replacement insurance you pretty much don't have insurance at all.

Fine Figure of a Man said:

If you don't have replacement insurance you pretty much don't have insurance at all.

Click to expand...

We never carried replacement until we moved to our current home that we plan to stay in forever. We chose to save that $500 and if it blew away we would pay the bank off and take the money and run with no intent on rebuilding.

SamT1 said:

We never carried replacement until we moved to our current home that we plan to stay in forever. We chose to save that $500 and if it blew away we would pay the bank off and take the money and run with no intent on rebuilding.

Click to expand...

I don't get your point. Replacement means the insurance company has agreed to pay you enough to replace the item with a similar one. Every year, they bump up the value of my house to a level high enough to rebuild. However, there is no limitation on what I do with the money. If my house gets destroyed, I can use the insurance payout to rebuild in the same location, use some or all of it to build or buy elsewhere, or have a hell of a vacation in Las Vegas leaving myself homeless.

The problem with actual value insurance is that the payout depends on the market value of the item at the time of its loss. Suppose you own a house in a neighborhood that goes downhill. If you can sell the house at all, you will get far less than than you paid. Actual value insurance will pay only what you could sell the house for even though that's not enough to build or buy something similar. It might not even be enough to pay off your mortgage.

Kendahl said:

I don't get your point. Replacement means the insurance company has agreed to pay you enough to replace the item with a similar one. Every year, they bump up the value of my house to a level high enough to rebuild. However, there is no limitation on what I do with the money. If my house gets destroyed, I can use the insurance payout to rebuild in the same location, use some or all of it to build or buy elsewhere, or have a hell of a vacation in Las Vegas leaving myself homeless.

The problem with actual value insurance is that the payout depends on the market value of the item at the time of its loss. Suppose you own a house in a neighborhood that goes downhill. If you can sell the house at all, you will get far less than than you paid. Actual value insurance will pay only what you could sell the house for even though that's not enough to build or buy something similar. It might not even be enough to pay off your mortgage.

Click to expand...

I used to have enough to buy a similar used home. I now carry enough to build a new one the same size as mine. It’s about 100k of difference in valuation.

The NRA offers insurance for firearms. If the value is over $2500 for an individual item, it needs to be described but that does not include the serial number.