Sports fans love collectibles. They spend a lot of time and money collecting sports memorabilia of their favorite sports teams and players. But it’s important to stop and ask the question “what if”. What if they lost their entire collection in a fire for instance? what if it’s stolen? do they have coverage under their homeowner’s policy? What if it’s a valuable signed piece, how much coverage do they get?
These questions are often overlooked and maybe never thought of by many.
What Does Standard Homeowner’s Insurance Cover?
Homeowners insurance is designed to protect you from the loss of personal property. In theory, that should include your sports collectibles. In reality, things are not so simple. Unless your collectibles have been specifically scheduled, your insurance company may refuse to reimburse you for them.
Do not expect to get the full appraised value for them either. Reimbursements are based on your collectibles’ actual cash value, not their collectible or appraised value. That means that, if a disaster were to wipe out your collection, you would get far less than the true value back from your insurance company. In fact, you might only get back the amount you can prove with receipts that you originally paid for your collectibles instead of their current market value.
Of course, that is assuming you would get anything at all. That depends on how your collectibles are lost or damaged in the first place. In general, homeowners insurance policies cover damage from:
- – Hurricanes
- – Tornadoes
- – Hail
- – Wind
- – Fire
- – Theft
However, do not expect compensation from a standard policy if the damage is caused by flooding or earthquakes. Even if flooding was caused by a hurricane, it still counts as separate damage. That’s right – a flood could wipe out your baseball cards, wash away your signed bat and glove – and your homeowners insurance wouldn’t do a thing to help you recover their value.
What Insurance Options Are There For Sports Memorabilia?
Since standard homeowners insurance is not reliable when it comes to protecting your sports memorabilia, you need something extra. One option is to add additional coverage to your current homeowners policy. This saves you from the hassle of having to find another insurance company. You may be able to work up an extended policy with your agent easily.
On the other hand, it is nice to have a collectible policy that is specifically designed to protect the value of your one of a kind cards and jerseys. Specialty insurance companies offer policies that usually cover loss and damage by:
- – Theft
- – Breakage
- – Mail loss
- – Fire
- – Flooding
- – Natural Disasters
Collectible insurance policies still do have some exclusions, so be sure to carefully review any policy you are offered before making an agreement.
Sports fans – how safe are your collectables? Would your treasured baseball card collection survive a flood? What might happen to your Michael Jordan autographed basketball in a house fire? What if burglars swipe your signed Wayne Gretzky jersey?
These questions are not designed to make you paranoid about your sports memorabilia collection, but they do bring up an important concern that all too many sports fans overlook.
What would happen to your collection in a tragic event? Does your home insurance cover the value of your memorabilia?
Should I Really Be Worried About My Sports Memorabilia Being Stolen?
No one likes to think about it, but there are some very nasty people in this world who may want to steal your belongings. Consider these examples:
- Potomac, MD: Signed San Antonio Spurs basketballs and jerseys were stolen at 1:38 pm while the homeowners were out for a walk.
- Shoreham, VT: Dale Earnhardt collectible cars and personal checks, a baseball autographed by Ted Williams, and Ted Williams action figures were stolen during multiple burglaries.
- Fargo, ND: Over 100 items of baseball memorabilia valued at over $4,000 were stolen from a self-storage facility.
What Does Standard Homeowner’s Insurance Cover?
Homeowners insurance is designed to protect you from the loss of personal property. In theory, that should include your sports collectibles. In reality, things are not so simple. Unless your collectibles have been specifically scheduled, your insurance company may refuse to reimburse you for them.
Do not expect to get the full appraised value for them either. Reimbursements are based on your collectibles’ actual cash value, not their collectible or appraised value. That means that, if a disaster were to wipe out your collection, you would get far less than the true value back from your insurance company. In fact, you might only get back the amount you can prove with receipts that you originally paid for your collectibles instead of their current market value.
Of course, that is assuming you would get anything at all. That depends on how your collectibles are lost or damaged in the first place. In general, homeowners insurance policies cover damage from:
- – Hurricanes
- – Tornadoes
- – Hail
- – Wind
- – Fire
- – Theft
However, do not expect compensation from a standard policy if the damage is caused by flooding or earthquakes. Even if flooding was caused by a hurricane, it still counts as separate damage. That’s right – a flood could wipe out your baseball cards, wash away your signed bat and glove – and your homeowners insurance wouldn’t do a thing to help you recover their value.
What Insurance Options Are There For Sports Memorabilia?
Since standard homeowners insurance is not reliable when it comes to protecting your sports memorabilia, you need something extra. One option is to add additional coverage to your current homeowners policy. This saves you from the hassle of having to find another insurance company. You may be able to work up an extended policy with your agent easily.
On the other hand, it is nice to have a collectible policy that is specifically designed to protect the value of your one of a kind cards and jerseys. Specialty insurance companies offer policies that usually cover loss and damage by:
- – Theft
- – Breakage
- – Mail loss
- – Fire
- – Flooding
- – Natural Disasters
Collectible insurance policies still do have some exclusions, so be sure to carefully review any policy you are offered before making an agreement.
Credit to: Ryan Hanley at “Trusted Choice”