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Originally Posted by fatcat28037 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
A rider shouldn't be necessary unless you have a lot of VERY VERY expensive gear. If you have proof that you own the stuff, reciepts and/or pictures/video of the stuff in your home your regular home owners will cover it.
Agreed. The video idea is a good one for all your personal property. walk around your house and video everything and narrate as you go, pointing out expensive/irreplaceable posessions and giving prices and purchase dates whenever possible. And find a place other than YOUR HOME to store the tape
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This is exactly what you need to do, and then update it every 6 months or so. Then you simply drop off the new tape with the insurance agent. One of my friends who used to live in Cayman did this and would get his insurance agent to agree to the valuations he had proposed and add this as the final segment of his tape!
He kept all of his physical receipts as well as his credit card statements and PayPal records (highlighted for the items in question) along with printouts of his email correspondence (mostly for used items bought on Audiogon). This all went into a fireproof filing cabinet at his medical practice, which worked fine until Hurricane Ivan came along and suddenly everything at his practice was 6 feet under water. The fireproof cabinet wasn't waterproof! Despite the fact that it was fully loaded and quite heavy it managed to float about 30 feet away from where it was initally.
But he had a backup tape of the latest version of the inventory he had taken, complete with zoomed in shots of serial numbers and so forth (and the insurance agent's recorded agreement to the insured values), so he had no problem in getting the full value of what he had insured everything for.
When it comes to your music collection, you just need to film the area where you store it all and provide an approximation of the number of CDs, LPs, DVDs, etc., based on the storage capacity of the shelving that you're using. Then make comments about any rare or out of print stuff that you have, but otherwise use simple multiples like $10 per CD, or $15 per DVD, and they'll accept this so long as it's reasonable. Kind of important in case there is a burglary and suddenly everything is gone!
Remember that it's your money that you're spending when you write the check for the policy, so there is NOTHING WRONG!!! with being completely anal and over the top with your documentation approach. With respect to receipts for the key items, it would actually make sense to photocopy everything and present them with a file to put along with your policy information for their records (in case anything happens to the original copies of your receipts, such as water damage from a hurricane, a real possibility in Florida as well).
I know that some of this may sound crazy but the premiums tend not to be cheap (contents are usually the same rate per $1 as you otherwise spend for your house itself). Tell your agent that the market for some of these items is limited and suggest to him/her what you think are appropriate ways to assess values in the event that you one day have a claim. What I'd suggest here would be to put together an Excel spreadsheet with the following columns for each significant item to be insured (going across rather than down):
Date (of purchase)
New/Used (a column to indicate whether you bought it new or used)
MSRP (list price, or full retail, whatever you want to call it)
Cost (to you, what you paid for it)
Estimate FMV (to be updated every 6 months, indicating the best source to use for each item, Audiogon, Head-Fi, etc.)
For the estimated FMV, the idea is:
1) To set the value that you've decided to insure the item in question for at this time. Essentially, this is what you'll be asking them to pay you if you ever have a claim, not what you paid for it, but it's replacement cost based on it's age, etc.
2) To make sure that you don't over insure an item for what you paid for it 5 years ago. Digital gear, for example, tends to depreciate quickly. So you can keep dropping the estimated FMV as evidence from Audiogon or Head-Fi suggests you ought to.
3) To demonstrate that you've made an honest effort to ensure that you've communicated clearly your intentions as the "insured" such that they can't contend that you've exaggerated your insured values later on.
In this regard (#3 above), it's much like the documentation that IRS agents would be very impressed by if ever they audited your expense reports. It shows them that you've kept good records and are playing the game in a fair way and by the rules.
4) Finally, it gives them a sense of where to look (Audiogon, Head-Fi, etc.)and how to go about their business in terms of assessing your valuations in the event that they need to. In this regard, they would probably do a quick sample of the big ticket items (speakers, amps, rare headphones) and once satisfied that you were being honest, they would then cut you a check for the full amount of your claim less the deductible.
In sum, it's your money that you're spending for the premium (which tends to be quite high relative to the risks, say as compared to damage that could happen to your house). So you shouldn't feel bad about being over the top. Provide them with an updated video, inventory list (printout of your Excel file) and a folder with photocopies of your key receipts.
Have them sign and date a simple acknowledgement letter indicating that they have received these items from you (listing out the 3 items you've given them) and that they agree that your method of assigning values to the insured items is reasonable. That way, you'll be off to a good start if ever you need to file a claim.
If they don't want to sign the letter to acknowledge the documents that you've given them and have asked them to keep with your file, tell them that you don't want to have any miscommunication in the event that the people you're working with now leave the company. Don't make it into a personal thing or make them think you're quesitoning their integrity. You're simply attempting to set up a smooth claims process in advance.
Depending on the dollar value of the items that you have to insure, this could well be worth your time and effort! I know it is for me!
