Insurance....you need to think about it.

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Remington1911 said:
Most home owners insurance companies lump our guns into a "sporting goods" grouping, and the limit on that is generally sub $3,000.
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I'd be interested i n where you got your information. Insurance policies differ considerably from state to state. For the 33 years I was an agent firearms were considered "personal property" for most losses, but had a limit for theft (which could be easily increased without serial number) but for which strongly recommended photos and receipts or current estimates be kept outside the home. I offered my file drawer, but did not require the client to use my storage. "High Valued" firearms (over $2500 at that time) needed specific identification and appraisals, with a copy to the company.

BigBlue 94 said:
This is where taking pictures of every drawer, gun, ammo stash, etc can help tremendously.
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This is true of everything in your home and garage. Not just drawers, but pics of all walls with decorations. It proves the existence of the lost item, and helps confirm the quality (thus value) of the items.
 
I have homeowners insurance through State Farm.

State Farm also offers a personal articles policy of insurance which could include any type of personal items you may wish to list, and I assigned the final insured value to each item.

So, I listed a bunch of firearms on the personal articles policy of insurance and I am charged a separate premium for this separate policy.

I would be more than certain that other insurance companies have similar types of personal articles policies of insurance to offer.

Bayou52
 
Mark_Mark said:
here we go:

did they ask how many guns you have?

Types of guns, and I wonder if this is state to state?

How did you start the conversation with the agent?

What was the cost per $1,000 in value?
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My agent put a rider on my guns because like most folks have already said, your general homeowners insurance limits what it will pay out for guns that aren't claimed. According to my agent, like jewelry, guns are one of the most common fraudulent loss claims after a fire or break-in. What I did was make a list of my firearms and their approximate value. I also took pictures. Iffin I remember correctly, I did not have to give the serial numbers to my agent, but I do have a record of them. The cost of insurance was based on the total value I put on the guns. Thus....if I inflated their value, I paid for it. Don't exactly remember what the cost is per year, I know it sounded high at first, but after I looked at what my collection is worth, I realized it is well worth the cost.
 
buck460XVR said:
My agent put a rider on my guns because like most folks have already said, your general homeowners insurance limits what it will pay out for guns that aren't claimed. According to my agent, like jewelry, guns are one of the most common fraudulent loss claims after a fire or break-in. What I did was make a list of my firearms and their approximate value. I also took pictures. Iffin I remember correctly, I did not have to give the serial numbers to my agent, but I do have a record of them. The cost of insurance was based on the total value I put on the guns. Thus....if I inflated their value, I paid for it. Don't exactly remember what the cost is per year, I know it sounded high at first, but after I looked at what my collection is worth, I realized it is well worth the cost.
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What I did was make a database, it has when I bought it, what I paid for it, what it is including SN# if applicable, and a date with cost on what they are "going for" on that given date, also several photos of it including the SN#. I doubt many "gun nutz" will see this as a chore, it is actually fun. You get to fondle long lost loves, take photos, and see just "what they are worth now". After you get done, put them all on a DVD, thumb drive, whatever and store that someplace else, mine is with the inlaws.

The costs for the insurance itself is not that bad at all. It is a little like the costs on the classic cars or bikes.....I think my Triumph is like $30 per year, it is not a daily driver so likely nothing will happen to it.

Even if you are not good with a computer, take photos of all your girls and just print them out and store them someplace off site. Personally I would use something other then your cell phone as I don't think Google or Apple needs to know what I have, and I think they know everything....but that is a topic for another thread and from what I understand not here.
 
Remington1911 said:
What I did was make a database, it has when I bought it, what I paid for it, what it is including SN# if applicable, and a date with cost on what they are "going for" on that given date, also several photos of it including the SN#. I doubt many "gun nutz" will see this as a chore, it is actually fun. You get to fondle long lost loves, take photos, and see just "what they are worth now". After you get done, put them all on a DVD, thumb drive, whatever and store that someplace else, mine is with the inlaws.

The costs for the insurance itself is not that bad at all. It is a little like the costs on the classic cars or bikes.....I think my Triumph is like $30 per year, it is not a daily driver so likely nothing will happen to it.

Even if you are not good with a computer, take photos of all your girls and just print them out and store them someplace off site. Personally I would use something other then your cell phone as I don't think Google or Apple needs to know what I have, and I think they know everything....but that is a topic for another thread and from what I understand not here.
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you can store files in your email and label them as something else. or encrypted them. Or make a good old photo album and keep it in a different location from the goods
 
Check your state laws on insurance coverage requirements. Where I live guns, ammo, accessories, and knives are under personal property. No additional insurance is needed.
 
Yo Mama said:
Where I live guns, ammo, accessories, and knives are under personal property. No additional insurance is needed.
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As in all insurance policies "the large print giveth, but the fine print taketh away". READ your homeowners policy with special attention to the sections marked "limitations and exclusions", as well as any section marked as "special limits to coverage". Under one of those is the usual place for limiting firearms coverage to some specific amount or/and limiting the amount for theft to lower than the total amount on firearms. Highlight what you find, then meet with your agent to discuss it.
 
mabey it’s best to cosmolean all your guns with heavy grease and wrap in a stong plastic and store in a underground container or secure out house. Then bring in the guns you shoot.
 
earlthegoat2 said:
My insurance policy is not having many guns.

My homeowners covers up to $5000 which is more than enough for my current total value. Add the NRA insurance and there is probably a few others.

Extra insurance and huge collections combined with security systems and extra security measures can be extreme false economy at its worst for many gun owners.

Carefully figure out your priorities and choose wisely.
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Yep, my homeowners also covers $5000 and the free NRA insurance is another $2500, so I also don't need to buy any extra. I actually just changed insurance companies and in the initial conversation when I asked about the firearms limit the agent added that the limit is only for theft, for fire there is no limit. Which for me makes no difference but I thought it was interesting.

ETA: After I posted the above I noticed that @ColtPythonElite already mentioned the theft vs fire point.
 
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The OP has a good point.

I've talked to people who've had their house burn down. The common theme seemed to be that the insurance company was extremely helpful in terms of replacing the house up to the coverage limits.

They were also very helpful in terms of replacing the items inside the house--but ONLY if the homeowner could prove ownership.

In other words, the fact that you have $10K of firearms coverage doesn't necessarily mean they're just going to write you out a check for that amount after a fire. You may have to prove that you had at least $10K worth of firearms at the time of the fire. If you can't prove you had any firearms, you could get nothing.

1. Look at your contents coverage and make sure it covers what you want covered and to the proper amount. Make sure you understand your policy.

2. Find out what the insurance company will accept as proof of ownership and make sure that you follow their instructions and then store that proof somewhere secure.

Different companies may handle things differently--the key is to make sure you know what the situation is ahead of time.
 
My three center-fire, two rim-fire rifles, one shotgun and two pistols can be replaced for about $3,000. If the loss is more than that, I'll "stand the gaff" for the remainder (rather than paying an additional premium).
 
I just added coverage for my firearms since the basic homeowners didn't go far enough. $10,000.00 in coverage came to just $65.00 a year extra. I'm in the process of getting values for my wife's jewelry to increase coverage on them.
 
[Even if you are not good with a computer, take photos of all your girls and just print them out and store them someplace off site./QUOTE]
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See, the basic problem with that idea is that the serial number might not change, but I keep upgrading things; scopes, handguards, lasers, etc and the pictures never look like the guns I currently have.:what:
 
Meh. If my house burns down, it gets rebuilt and my property value doubles.

I'd give you my guns if you........

I'll have to get around to checking what my insurance covers.
 
I had a fire in my house years ago.
As mentioned earlier it is a good idea to take pictures of all your stuff, all of it, clothes, dishes etc.
Put the pictures on a flash drive (or DVD(s) ) and store them someplace off site, a relatives house, your safe deposit box etc. (2 copies in to two places is better)
You can zip up the pics (tell your zip program no compression because pictures don't compress much if at all) and you can encrypt the zip file.
Low grade encryption but good enough to stop the average person if somehow the flash drive was to fall into the wrong hands.

I went thru the insurance asking what was it, when did you buy it, how much did you pay routine.
Of course all my receipts in the file cabinet burned up, so it's not a bad idea to take pictures of receipts for high value items to.

Easy not to think about this until it happens to you.

BTW I had fire extinguishers, I went to the fire with one in hand and saw it would be like peeing in the wind and decided to exit stage right ASAP.
Fires can grow far quicker than you can imagine if you haven't had one.
 
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