Insurance questions for your Lego collection

[stephen_rockefeller]

4 minutes ago, ironbrick said:

Incorrect! The purpose of insurance is for the insurance company to legitimatily manage quantifiable risk. If you have no evidence of what you own or have proof of what you paid they can and will deny your claim. They are a business. If you have insurance through Collectibles Insurance Agency please read your policy very careful.

You do get blanket coverage on items up to $5,000 each. However, after two claims they will DROP you being an excessive risk. This is known fact and has been well documented on the CGC comic forums as well.  

You are full of cool stories bro!

[ironbrick]

Just now, stephen_rockefeller said:

You are full of cool stories bro!

Wow. And that is your comeback. Only been in the antiques and collectibles trade for over 20 years...but what do I know...lol

 

[KShine]

1 hour ago, emazers said:

With over 3000 sets and 90% Exclusives I have no insurance, there is no way I am paying $100's of dollars insurance on my Lego sets, and it would be almost impossible for me to prove what I exactly have. I guess anything can happen but for me getting robbed on all my stuff is near impossible, it would take them all day to take them out of my house, the cops would be in before they got a load or two out. The only way I would loose everything if my house burned down, and does anybody really think that my Insurance company would hand me a check for a couple hundred thousand check. I don't.     Ed

Yes, they would.

4 minutes ago, ironbrick said:

Incorrect! The purpose of insurance is for the insurance company to legitimatily manage quantifiable risk. If you have no evidence of what you own or have proof of what you paid they can and will deny your claim. They are a business. If you have insurance through Collectibles Insurance Agency please read your policy very careful.

You do get blanket coverage on items up to $5,000 each. However, after two claims they will DROP you being an excessive risk. This is known fact and has been well documented on the CGC comic forums as well.  

I don't have confidence in your stories, or in the low cost online collectible insurance companies. 

[redcell]

2 hours ago, micbelt said:

$100 a year or $100 a month?

$100 a year per $25,000 in coverage...it's business insurance, covers replacement cost, and covers offsite storage.

[ironbrick]

1 minute ago, KShine said:

 

I don't have confidence in your stories, or in the low cost online collectible insurance companies. 

There is a such function as an 'ignore user' option then...perhaps you should use it? 

[redcell]

1 hour ago, emazers said:

With over 3000 sets and 90% Exclusives I have no insurance, there is no way I am paying $100's of dollars insurance on my Lego sets, and it would be almost impossible for me to prove what I exactly have. I guess anything can happen but for me getting robbed on all my stuff is near impossible, it would take them all day to take them out of my house, the cops would be in before they got a load or two out. The only way I would loose everything if my house burned down, and does anybody really think that my Insurance company would hand me a check for a couple hundred thousand check. I don't.     Ed

If they are a reputable insurance company and you've purchased the right type of insurance for the coverage that you need, yes, I absolutely think that they would write you a check for several hundred thousand dollars...it happens all the time (maybe not with Lego, but the entire purpose of casualty insurance is to pay you when a casualty occurs).

16 minutes ago, ironbrick said:

Is this through them? Because that is not the dealer rate. You are buying this as a collector. Be careful if that is the case (and without knowing more I can't confirm), but if they have evidence (say you posting on a forum) about your reselling habits they can deny your claim under the fact that you falsified documents to obtain coverage. 

No, I don't buy insurance through them...I buy through one of the major insurers and buy it under a business policy.  

[ironbrick]

4 minutes ago, redcell said:

$100 a year per $25,000 in coverage...it's business insurance, covers replacement cost, and covers offsite storage.

http://lgcyquote.collectinsure.com/getestimate.aspx

I don't know what state you are in to confirm (rates are different depending on the state you reside in), but I can state that I am in PA and for the dealer rate you cannot buy $25,000 for a $100 a year! 

 

Never mind, you answered my question above! 

Edited June 12, 2016 by ironbrick

[t_mafia]

Hi all, Since it has been quite a while since the last post and specifics may have changed, I have a question about insuring Legos, both in terms of personal and resale. From the previous posts in this thread, I see that collectibles has some fine print about the dealer vs collector policies (ie you are only covered for each type under the respective policy). For people using collectibles, how do you deal with buying and selling? I've inquired through my homeowners insurance and it can be covered that way through a rider but, due to the nature of buying and selling, my "portfolio" is in constant flux. Since there is not just one time per year where I buy and sell everything, I don't know how to account for this in insurance. I'm sure others have had this problem so I am wondering what to do? (This could be through any agency, collectibles, american collectors, etc.) Do you amend your set list and coverage on a monthly basis? Quarterly? Yearly? Or is there some sort of policy where one could have (for example) $15,000 worth of coverage and the items (sets in this case) could be swapped in and out as long as you were to stay under the coverage limit? For example, buying a set for $100 and selling a set for $50 would keep the coverage the same as long as a picture/evidence was gathered of the new set. Also, for people with personal and reseller stock, do you take out two policies? Any help is appreciated

[redcell]

I just have a business inventory policy that provides a set level of coverage regardless of what specific sets I have at any given time.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

My stash is covered by my friend's warehouse insurance as I've detailed the exact inventory on a manifest which has been sent to his insurance company, since there's already many £millions of other stock already covered, there was no price increase. Forgive me for saying this, but a fire or burglary would save me a lot of work! ?

At home, I used to register the property for business after getting approval from the council. It was cheap and easy as I don't need to operate machinery (apart from air pillows) or employ anybody. It added £200 to the contents insurance premium for £50,000 of cover. I no longer keep any LEGO at home apart from anything I build.

Make sure you get business cover as domestic won't cut it if you're obviously selling for profit. Any loss adjuster can easily prove that it's not for personal use and will invalidate any claim. I've seen so many people lose out by being cheap and committing an offence!

Do I regret getting started with LEGO investing? HELL YES !!!

[Bold-Arrow]

If you are selling on Amazon , you are required to carry an insurance policy per their TOS, even though they rarely ask for proof. So I do have my inventory covered and to be honest, I sleep better at night knowing if something was to happen , I won't be financially ruined. 

[nolan808]

I have a question for anyone who can help. I basically can't keep anymore lego in he house as storage is a big problem, my partner is literally ready to chuck it all away lol.

I have been doing some research on other ways to store lego and came across storage containers. I have been to look at a storage container right on my door step and wondered if people thought that would be a good idea or not. The price for the unit is £100 a month and is obviously secure with CCTV etc.

I however worry about certain things

Insurance is the main problem and I'm struggling to find someone to insure a storage container, it seems very risky to not insure it even though the site is well secure.

How safe are the lego boxes in a storage container? I would have all lego in plastic boxes so none would be on the floor and was hoping that would be enough to prevent mold and damp.

Any help would be appreciated, if anyone's done this and could give me advise or theirs a different alternative. £100 is a lot a month but it seems a small price to pay to have the space and to stop the wife being on my back.

Thanks in advance

[Guest TabbyBoy]

52 minutes ago, raulaco said:

I have a question for anyone who can help. I basically can't keep anymore lego in he house as storage is a big problem, my partner is literally ready to chuck it all away lol.

I have been doing some research on other ways to store lego and came across storage containers. I have been to look at a storage container right on my door step and wondered if people thought that would be a good idea or not. The price for the unit is £100 a month and is obviously secure with CCTV etc.

I however worry about certain things

Insurance is the main problem and I'm struggling to find someone to insure a storage container, it seems very risky to not insure it even though the site is well secure.

How safe are the lego boxes in a storage container? I would have all lego in plastic boxes so none would be on the floor and was hoping that would be enough to prevent mold and damp.

Any help would be appreciated, if anyone's done this and could give me advise or theirs a different alternative. £100 is a lot a month but it seems a small price to pay to have the space and to stop the wife being on my back.

Thanks in advance

Insurance (has to be business NOT private) will likely cost a lot more than the storage and remember to keep an updated manifest of stock as you’ll need it if you claim. I don’t recommend public storage as a lot of thieves even hire small units to spy on what goes in to bigger ones. If you have no choice, make sure that “LEGO” is not visible on any boxes. I’m lucky in that I have a friend’s warehouse to use and his warehouse manager has a current copy of my manifest, just in case. Remember that a loss adjuster’s job is to invalidate any claim, and most are very good at it!

If your home life is suffering, just bite the bullet and sell the excess at a small loss if you have to, it could still be cheaper than storage and insurance. I sold hundreds at a loss when space was tight for me at first and the relief was worth every penny. If I sold those same sets now, they’d be worth even less.

Edited December 8, 2018 by TabbyBoy

[nolan808]

12 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

Insurance (has to be business NOT private) will likely cost a lot more than the storage and remember to keep an updated manifest of stock as you’ll need it if you claim. I don’t recommend public storage as a lot of thieves even hire small units to spy on what goes in to bigger ones. If you have no choice, make sure that “LEGO” is not visible on any boxes. I’m lucky in that I have a friend’s warehouse to use and his warehouse manager has a current copy of my manifest, just in case. Remember that a loss adjuster’s job is to invalidate any claim, and most are ver good at it!

If your home life is suffering, just bite the bullet and sell the excess at a small loss if you have to, it could still be cheaper than storage and insurance. I sold hundreds at a loss when space was tight for me at first and the relief was worth every penny. If I sold those same sets now, they’d be worth even less.

Cheers for that info buddy. I'm thinking that maybe the best bet is to sell off quite a few sets and maybe wait until my situation regarding space changes. It seems like a lot of hassle and expense to move it all into a container, I also feel that it might be safer where I'm based at this current time. I have recently decided to pretty much get rid of any sets that haven't retired and have no sign of retirement as it's taking up space and the money could be used for other purposes. Its very easy to get carried away with buying lego sets when discounted, theres's also been quite a few good deals atm and very hard to resist the urge in buying. My actual job keeps me busy enough and this whole buying and selling lego is starting to become a bit of a headache lol.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

19 minutes ago, raulaco said:

Cheers for that info buddy. I'm thinking that maybe the best bet is to sell off quite a few sets and maybe wait until my situation regarding space changes. It seems like a lot of hassle and expense to move it all into a container, I also feel that it might be safer where I'm based at this current time. I have recently decided to pretty much get rid of any sets that haven't retired and have no sign of retirement as it's taking up space and the money could be used for other purposes. Its very easy to get carried away with buying lego sets when discounted, theres's also been quite a few good deals atm and very hard to resist the urge in buying. My actual job keeps me busy enough and this whole buying and selling lego is starting to become a bit of a headache lol.

You're welcome. One thing I have done more of recently is concentrate on sets that fit into either 600x400x100mm or 310x230x100mm boxes (from Staples). These are mainly for medium/large CITY/Trains/Technic and for small Architecture/CITY/Brickheadz/IDEAS sets. Over 95% of my stock uses these boxes and that alone saves space. When I was selling modulars, I had custom 600x500x120mm double-walled boxes made (from ACS Direct) as the LEGO factory box isn't strong enough for today's careless couriers.

I admit, I stopped buying for a while, but the recent great deals at Asda/George had me piling in again ? However, I do have buyers lined up to take most of it immediately ?

Have you asked at work for storage? In a previous job, they allowed me 2 pallets of space as long as I paid for the enclosed/lidded pallets myself. I just bought my boss the occasional beer after work and no problems ?

[hrhater]

sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere in the forum, what happened to the investment guide feature that has market value of the sets when entering the model number(s)? this helped with determining my lego inventory value for insurance purposes. TIA.

[Ed Mack]

17 minutes ago, hrhater said:

sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere in the forum, what happened to the investment guide feature that has market value of the sets when entering the model number(s)? this helped with determining my lego inventory value for insurance purposes. TIA.

We had a server issue and all data is being moved to new, faster and more reliable servers.  The data will be back shortly.

[legorunner]

Resurrecting this thread to ask a couple of questions. I'm a relative small timer - my inventory has a paid for value of $10k with a market value of 2.5 times that or so, and my personal collection dating back to my childhood is worth another $10k at market value. I am currently storing a lot of the inventory in an insured storage unit, but this summer I hope to do enough work to our shed that I can store my inventory in it without worrying about humidity. I would like to have both my collection and my inventory insured for peace of mind. 

1) I haven't actually talked to our Homeowners Insurance rep yet about taking out a Personal Articles Policy, but it looks like they (State Farm) require an appraisal. Is Collectinsure still a good route for personal collection? 

2) Can anyone speak to going with a Dealer policy through Collectinsure vs a general Business Insurance policy given my level of inventory? 

[KShine]

1 hour ago, legorunner said:

Resurrecting this thread to ask a couple of questions. I'm a relative small timer - my inventory has a paid for value of $10k with a market value of 2.5 times that or so, and my personal collection dating back to my childhood is worth another $10k at market value. I am currently storing a lot of the inventory in an insured storage unit, but this summer I hope to do enough work to our shed that I can store my inventory in it without worrying about humidity. I would like to have both my collection and my inventory insured for peace of mind. 

1) I haven't actually talked to our Homeowners Insurance rep yet about taking out a Personal Articles Policy, but it looks like they (State Farm) require an appraisal. Is Collectinsure still a good route for personal collection? 

2) Can anyone speak to going with a Dealer policy through Collectinsure vs a general Business Insurance policy given my level of inventory? 

I would talk with you homeowners insurance company - Your numbers don't seem that high that you would have too many issues.

[KShine]

My Insurance company is no longer going to be offering coverage for my LEGO.

Looking for some suggestions - What companies have you guys had good experience with?

[brickvoyeur]

2 minutes ago, KShine said:

Looking for some suggestions

Light the lot on fire before they cancel your coverage

[Thanos75]

My wife is an Allstate agent...lol. She would kill me if I suggested any other company but Allstate. Im sure if she could write policies in other states besides Louisiana she would love to help you....lol

[$20 on joe vs dan]

has anyone filed a claim before for their LEGO? wondering what the burden of proof practically is.

[Thanos75]

My Lego is actually covered on my insuance. As are my original comic book pages and art. Living in New Orleans its best to have everything covered.

[legorunner]

3 hours ago, KShine said:

What companies have you guys had good experience with?

I ended up getting a policy through Collectinsure this Spring. It was very easy to get a policy and the guy I spoke with was really helpful. I was the second "LEGO guy" he'd talked to that week. Rates are really affordable. Haven't had to file a claim  of course so can't speak to the level of proof required, but basically the agent I spoke with said keep good records and we will cover you.