In 2007, the most expensive and rare baseball card in the world, a 1909 Honus Wagner tobacco card sold at auction for $2.35 million dollars. While most collectibles don’t come close to that kind of value, collections- whether it’s baseball cards, coins, stamps or art, tend to not only have sentimental value to their owner, but often financial value as well. If you own a collection, you’ll want to protect it. Here are a few things to consider when it comes to your collections:
Understand the monetary value of your collection.
Even if you don’t spend upwards of one million dollars for anything in your collection, spending hundreds of dollars can add up quickly as your collection grows. It’s important to keep receipts from items that you purchase for the collection. If you’ve inherited a collectible or a full collection, ask for documentation of the monetary value of what you’ve inherited. Another option is to have the item or collection appraised. Insurance policies will often provide coverage for an item or collection at its “appraised value,” so having a regular appraisal of the collection can give you the information necessary to provide to your insurance agent so that they can obtain coverage that you’re comfortable with.
Document your collection.
Obtaining the information on the value of your collections is a good first step towards maintaining good records of your collection in the event items are stolen or lost in what’s referred to as a “named peril” in your homeowners insurance policy such as a house fire. In addition to a listing of the items with a description of each item in your collection, a photograph or a video documenting the item will be helpful. .
Check to see if you need or want a special policy for your collection.
For some collections, listing or “scheduling” them on your homeowners insurance policy will provide sufficient coverage. For some collections though, such as art, it may make more sense to obtain a separate policy- for items like art, antiques, musical instruments and coin collections, a Fine Arts and Valuable Items policy may be available for added peace of mind.
Collections often have tremendous sentimental meaning to their owners in addition to whatever their monetary value is, and a proud collector takes the time and effort to protect the collection
