Collectibles are very much in demand and alongside that trend we have seen a considerable growth in the request for insurance for collectibles for both single items and collections.
How do we define a collectible?
Collectibles are things that interest us and we want to keep, cherish or collect so it’s natural that we take steps to look after them and insurance for collectibles is a vital part of this. But before you look to arrange your insurance for collectibles, are your items deemed as a collectible?
It has to be something worthy of being collected, sought after by collectors and of a value that it is worth taking the time to collect. Although this definition obviously extends to include antiques works of art, in practice the term collectibles is used to describe items other than antiques, works of art and curios, therefore forming its own genre.
Some example of items which are deemed to be highly attractive can range from:
- sporting memorabilia
- toys
- art deco china
- cigarette cards
- vinyl record collections
- coin and medal collections
The list is endless. Toys are an area of great activity in the collectible market with such things as a boxed set of the Corgi Chipperfields Circus attracting big money. As are some sporting memorabilia, anything connected to Ayrton Senna for instance is currently very collectible.
Insurance for Collectibles
Regardless of whether you have a single item or a collection, one thing that is certain is that the items you own have a value and that you would suffer a financial loss if anything happened to them. It is therefore essential that you have the correct insurance for collectibles that you own. It is also important that in the event of a claim you are able to prove the value of your loss to your Insurer.
Tips to claim against your insurance for collectibles
There are some very simple actions that you can take to ensure that you don’t have any problems in the event of a claim.
- Calculate the value of the items and/or collections that are covered under your insurance for collectibles. Trade magazines and auction reports will help with this.
- Create a detailed catalogue of the items with current values.
- Take photographs of the items and retain them with the catalogued details
- Retain original purchase invoices or formal valuations.
Once you have established the values, you should contact your Insurer to make them aware that you have the items and their values. It may well be that their policy can cope with the items without amendment. However it should be remembered that many insurance for collectibles policies have inner limits on the total value of collections and individual items. In the event of a claim these policy limits will be applied and you could find yourself under insured or cover excluded altogether. It is therefore well worth checking with your Insurer to make sure that your valuable collectibles are properly insured.
Whatever you choose to collect, enjoy them,cherish them, look after them and ensure that you have the correct insurance for collectibles if you ever lose them.
If you would like to arrange insurance for collectibles or want more information on whether your current policy covers them, please give us a call on 01489 579808 or contact us via our web form.
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