Insurinig Your Guns

[adam12]

This is something I mean to do every 6 months and before you know it 17 years have gone by........

Anyway, When you're listing each gun in your inventory, do you insure for the price you paid or the current retail price?

What about used guns, especially those that are so old they're not made anymore?

I appreciate any contributions, guys, because this time I really AM insuring all my guns.

Oh one more thing. Should photos be included?

Thanks again - A12

 

[Coogs]

Any and all information about your guns, sights, scopes, scratches etc. should be noted. Absolutely do pics! Even video pointing out any and all characteristics about each gun. Yes, any and all guns should be noted, regardless of if they are still made or how old they are. God Bless you that you can afford insurance on ALL your guns. Hell, I can't even afford health insurance! Thanks onumbnuts, Coogs.

 

[MYBABYISA44MAG]

As an insurance agent, I want my clients to insure the guns for what it would cost today to replace them...I ask them for serial numbers, not for me but to have in case they are lost or stolen....keep a record of that info in a safe place...

 

[Chief_10Beers]

Retail replacement cost, same with my Camera Gear...........................................

 

[Dan in MI]

Anything no longer produced needs to be appraised. 19th century Colts, Winchesters, anything with collector value versus retail.

 

[MYBABYISA44MAG]

Insurance policies have a set limit on guns jewelry etc...in order to receive compensation for a specific item, you need to have a set limit on that item....or the max the policy will pay is what is in the internal limits...guns etc are not considered "contents"...

 

[6gun]

Current replacement value is what you insure everything for, your guns go up in value to replace while your car goes down in replacement value.

 

[Specs]

In KY I had an Option FA on my State Farm Homeowner's policy which provided up to $2500.00 for a single article with $5000.00 maximum aggregate for firearms. No separate listing of items or S/N. I know it's not much, but it could help replace the basics.

 

[Specs]

I maintain a database of everything I own plus I also have photos with any model/serial numbers of everything. I keep a flash drive in my safe deposit box and another at home. Whenever I add something to my home I add it to the database and also to the photo files. I have it set up by room for easy reference. I will not give out any specific information on my firearms unless I experience a loss.

 

[MYBABYISA44MAG]

When an item is insured specifically, like a gun or jewelry, normally there is NO deductible....unless you specifically want one...one of the good parts of insuring them under the endorsement...

 

[RSIno1]

I'm of the same therory that my gun inventory is not the business of my insurance company. I keep records of what I own and the numbers. Still haven't done the pictures but should. NRA insurance is all I carry.

https://www.locktonaffinity.com/nrains/armscareplus.htm

 

[opos]

My Wife is an antique glass collector...she has an extensive collection of glass with about a $40K value...my agent said that he would add a separate "rider" (think that was the word) that covered fire and theft..it does not cover earth quake....he asked that I take pictures of each of her cabinets and make him up a thumb drive or CD with any special information...it was cheap and unless we get a big shaker I feel covered...I asked about my guns and his comment was "how much information do you want in the public domain? I said I prefer not to have that...he said to take pictures with a narration and note the serial numbers and any special details and keep the record and information safe...I don't have near as much in guns as she has in the glassware...My normal homeowners covers a reasonable amount of personal property and having the details on the guns will aid if there is a loss...I don't want serial numbers, details floating around...just paranoid I guess.

 

[picketpin]

I close on a new place on Monday. Like the ranch it's off grid (sort of) but it's 5 hours closer to town.

I'm not sure I agree with the rate for the fire portion of the new policy. After all aren't there a LOT of people 12 miles from the nearest fire protection? Okay, maybe not on 20 acres of forest at the end of a private road on the top of a mountain ridge but still. If we have the Forest Service do a defensible boundary survey and in fact do it it'll drop the fire portion by 33%. That we can do.

The house is insured for X$ if you can find an insurance company that will write you a policy with a contents replacement of more than the value of the house I'll kiss.......................you can't do it.
As I've decide to move most of my "Stuff" up from the ranch I have three choices. Don't insure it at all. Take what will be covered under contents. OR get a "rider" that covers the guns, knives etc that I have managed to acquire in the last 55 years. Listing it all for the insurance company may smack of registration but what are the choices? If I were in their place I would insist on a very detailed list and pictures also. Especially when you think how else can you prove ownership of something you bought 5 years ago? 10, 20 30, 40?

Sure the NRA will sell you a drab of insurance. It'd cover maybe 5% of it, if it was all lost. Great.

The risk at the ranch wasn't all that high simply due to isolation. That and everything was covered under the ranches umbrella policy. Even then it gets iffy real quick. We had one burglary at the ranch in nearly 20 years. In the end it turned out to be a friend of my sons that had spent a lot of time at the ranch. He reloaded with my son and knew where the key was. He also knew our schedules and when the kids were in school. the wife and I were out of town and the buckaroos out to work he and two other kids burgled the reloading room. I stored all the boxes of stuff and a few knives, scopes, binoculars and spotting scopes in there. Thinking they were guns the stole S&W boxes going back 100 years or so. They assumed they had guns in them because they weighed something. In fact the had 50+ years accumulated stuff in them. Barrels, cylinders, screw drivers, manuals and the rest of the ephemera a guy ends up with.

I filed the insurance for $60,000. I was required to list all that I lost and frankly didn't remember it all. It fell under contents though.

A week later the questions started. Of course the local people hadn't a clue what I was talking about. They informed me that they had the right to replace stuff which was in fact true and said they had a guy in Texas that worked for the insurance companies and he could replace it all. I was a bit skeptical but said sure.

Two weeks later he called and asked some questions. Where in the world did you acquire 3 Pre War S&W Sight Adjustment tools/screwdrivers? One came with the Reg Mag my grandfather gave me. One came from a gun show in Goldendale, WA in about 1974 and the other came from a gun show in Minot, ND in about 1984. Why did you have a Pre War Hump Back hammer for a Reg Mag in a box. It was a spare I found along the way that matched the one in my Reg Mag, so I bought it,. I think that was 1978. Basically he just went down the list. It soon became apparent he was simply making sure I hadn't made it all up. In the end he thanked me and said my agent would be in touch.

Two weeks later I got a check from the insurance company for $75,000. The next day my agent called and asked if that amount was okay. I thought Bill could find it all? There was a pause, "He said was if he had 50 years and nothing else to do and all the money he could spend he MIGHT be able to replace 50% of what was stolen". I laughed and said said something to the effect that THAT made sense. I asked how we got from $60,000 to $75,000 and there was another pause. "Bill ran the numbers and came up that total. He also said just pray he accepts the check". There wasn't a single gun stolen.

When Mary Alice had her wreck in April and we moved up here to this cabin I started bringing my reloading stuff up here. In the process one of my friends mentioned he'd been to an estate sale and the guy had a ton of reloading stuff. They sold it at the end of the auction for $5 a box!!! That caused me to take a close look at what I have in reloading stuff, equipment, dies, tools, bullets, powder and all the rest and a real conservative number is somewhere bewteen $40,000 and $50,000 dollars and that was without including in value for tens of thousands of rounds of loaded ammo.

So, if they want a detailed rider for it all at the new place they certainly are entitled to it if I hope to recover a fraction of what I've spent in the last 55+ years. There really isn't a viable alternative.

Ross

Oh, the reason we found out who did the initial burglary was he came back to try and find the guns. I happened to be home in bed with the flu and not out on the desert. They'd been sitting in the garage drinking my beer while they worked out the problem. I just happened to hear them. I thought the kids were home from school early. Even with that I had a 45 tucked in the back of my Levis when I opened the door. One kids just sat there, one ran for the desert and the third ran for his pickup. After I shot two of his tires and his radiator he decide the "Lay on the ground command" made sense. I cuffed those two and cable tied them to the corral and the dogs and I went out to find the other idiot. Geez kid, it's 58 miles to the highway and the nearest neighbor. Where the Hell did you think you were going? "I paniced". Yep

The annoying part is that when they realized they didn't have guns they threw anything that would sink into the Snake River and all the boxes, papers. letters etc into dumpsters around Mountain Home. In the end they confessed to 34 residential burglaries and 147 thefts from vehicles in Owyhee and Malhuer County over a three year period. The SAD part, all the residents were of people who befriended Clark or who's mom knew the victims and he had been in the the homes repeatedly. He did 6 of the 10 he got but is back in the joint again for trying to strangle his girl friend. Great kid. ;-(

Point being if what they want is a detailed rider then that's what I'll give them. The more detailed the better IF you want to insure it.

I don't know about anybody else but the value of just the guns and custom knives far outweighs the amount I paid for the house and the land. Hell it's more than I paid for ANY house. You MIGHT want to take a real close look. It'll surprise you.

I paid $245 for the mint NIB S&W Combat Magnum (pre Model 19, 4 screw) in 1974. The last one I saw sell went for $2500. I seldom think of it all other than as "My Stuff" but I'll be go to Hell, it has actual value!!!

RWT

 

[picketpin]

I might leave a few off, especially those that shouldn't be in any data base. Gifts and private sales over the years. I'm sure like many this is an issue I have wrestled with for years. How to cover, at what cost and specifically which guns. It isn't that I have a few that are worth a LOT. It's the number of "nice" guns and other hunting stuff I've acquired in my life. They have a terrible habit of appearing but never leaving.. Safes? Turns out way too many unless they are in a basement on a concrete floor. I'll probably build a "safe" room like the ranch and the house before that. At the new place the single biggest danger is fire. I'll take all the measures I can but if some idiot starts a fire in the National Forest which borders me on 2 sides, the place is toast. If it isn't one risk, it's another. Probably no earth quakes or floods and only a small risk of theft but fire...................

Take care

Ross

 

[Jeepnik]

First, photos and any associated paperwork should be safely stored off site. I use a safe deposit box.

As to value, use blue book value for most standard pieces. Anything of appreciable value get appraised.

Have a sit down with your insurance rep annually to reevaluate the insurance levels. Heck, you should do this anyway, laws change, values change, live changes.

 

[speedsixman]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good insurance company to deal with ?
(Just for firearm insurance from fire or theft)

Some people don't seem to like the NRA's Armscare insurance, but what are the alternatives ?

Myron

 

[Rancher Will]

For Decades I have had in place Home Owners Insurance that includes a sum large enough to include all contents of our home. Our policy specifically includes the statement that contents coverage includes an inventory that I keep in our security safe, with dollar figure included as the maximum coverage that I purchase, so that I always have a record of any loss that should occur. I determine, and purchase the needed amount of coverage included in the total Home Owners Policy.

 

[chuck]

I had a friend (yea right) stole my model 19 called the police and gave them the serial # and also the name of the thief, that was 4 years ago and still nothing, so it does no good to have serial # and the thief's name

 

[AJGUNNER]

I keep a pretty detailed inventory on a spreadsheet which includes make, model, serial number, custom work (trigger/jeweling, etc), accessories (custom sites, scope, mounts, slings, grips, etc), and approximate current replacement value. This is really tough because you need to literally update current values every quarter or so these days. I also have photos of each firearm and a close up of the serial number. I have the photos numbered and these numbers are included on the inventory. I have a similar set of photos and spreadsheet inventory for most of the stuff in the man cave. This includes loaded ammo, loading gear, components (broken down to primers, bullets, powders, empty brass, ammo boxes, etc). I also shot video of the entire man cave because it also contains all the outdoor clothing, boots, and gear like binos, knives, bi-pods. I keep this all in the computer, on a thumb drive in the safe deposit box, on a thumb drive in the gun safe, and another thumb drive I often carry or have on the desk. While the computer and carry thumb drive get updated often, the others I try to update annually. Knock on wood---never had an issue yet, but I want to be ready if/when the time comes.

 

[737tdi]

See, this is something I don't understand. If I want to insure my carpet for $100,000 dollars I can. I don't have to prove squat, I just have to pay the extra premium. If I had a super duper stereo in my car and wanted to insure it for $15,000 I could, no problems. Why does (if they do really) give a crap what you are insuring? If I want to insure the contents of my house for $200,000 why would they care? I would pay a premium for that insurance. Just because a house is big doesn't mean it is worth squat, it is what is in it.

The idea that guns are separate is ludicrous IMO. I have several things in my home that are worth more then a single gun, do I list those? NO, they are included in the overall coverage of the house. High dollar TVs, stereos, cameras, furniture, etc.., the agent asks what is the value of the property inside the house, no questions. Bring up guns and it all goes weird. Most guns are worth under $500 and worth no more then my lazy boy but I have to provide a list of the guns but not the furniture. Something strange don't ya think? All of my household possessions are probably equal to my firearms collection so why do I have to list one but not the other? Again, strange. I don't get it!!

Oh well, I have no problems with the NRA coverage, you pay extra and no serial no.s are required except for high dollar collectibles.


Karl

 

[Kevin]

I agree with what you are saying Karl. Does the insurance require you to list your guns and not the serial number on the lazy boy because guns appreciate and in a few years that lazy boy will be worth 20 bucks at the salvation army? Guns are collectible and are one of the few household items that do go up in value every year. In part a serial number can show age. Age of the gun which can help determine replacement value. I keep a list of guns, we switched insurance companies a few years ago. I don't think the new company has the list, but our old one (State Farm) wanted the list.

 

[737tdi]

I agree with what you are saying Karl. Does the insurance require you to list your guns and not the serial number on the lazy boy because guns appreciate and in a few years that lazy boy will be worth 20 bucks at the salvation army? Guns are collectible and are one of the few household items that do go up in value every year. In part a serial number can show age. Age of the gun which can help determine replacement value. I keep a list of guns, we switched insurance companies a few years ago. I don't think the new company has the list, but our old one (State Farm) wanted the list.

Kevin: True, but if you are insured for $100,000 for the contents of the house it does not matter if value changed. You pay for the amount of insurance not what it is insuring. Too many people equate car insurance to home/property insurance. It is in no way the same. There is nothing in my house or shop that depreciates. If I wanted it to I would get farm insurance and farm taxes. Granted I am wrong when it comes to insuring firearms but that is wrong. Always has been. Lazyboy $1000, Ruger OM flatgate $500. What is the difference, I could sell both, both wear out, both could be stolen??? I still don't get it. Our couch was $2500, what is it's serial no.. I just bought a new camera, do they care? Nope, it is covered under the home owners policy. As far as I know you can insure everything in your home at market price and if you do lose it be paid that same cost. Might be wrong there but don't think so. ??? I still don't get the firearm thing. It is property, period.


Karl

 

[BlackEye]

See, this is something I don't understand. If I want to insure my carpet for $100,000 dollars I can. I don't have to prove squat, I just have to pay the extra premium. If I had a super duper stereo in my car and wanted to insure it for $15,000 I could, no problems. Why does (if they do really) give a crap what you are insuring? If I want to insure the contents of my house for $200,000 why would they care? I would pay a premium for that insurance. Just because a house is big doesn't mean it is worth squat, it is what is in it.

The idea that guns are separate is ludicrous IMO. I have several things in my home that are worth more then a single gun, do I list those? NO, they are included in the overall coverage of the house. High dollar TVs, stereos, cameras, furniture, etc.., the agent asks what is the value of the property inside the house, no questions. Bring up guns and it all goes weird. Most guns are worth under $500 and worth no more then my lazy boy but I have to provide a list of the guns but not the furniture. Something strange don't ya think? All of my household possessions are probably equal to my firearms collection so why do I have to list one but not the other? Again, strange. I don't get it!!

Oh well, I have no problems with the NRA coverage, you pay extra and no serial no.s are required except for high dollar collectibles.


Karl

There is a potential problem for the insurance company where guns are concerned. A homeowner is burglarized and reports $50,000 worth of firearms stolen. Maybe he only had a worn Ruger 10/22 or no guns at all. Put yourself as the one paying the claim and it seems reasonable you should know what you are insuring?

 

[BlackEye]

Exactly my thoughts too. It takes more than simply buying $50k of coverage at $XX .