Whatever you collect – stamps, coins, jewellery, shoes – your collection will have value. Whether that is monetary or personal value due to the time you have invested in building up your collection. And if your collection is valuable to you then you will want to do your best to protect it.
Here we look at whether you can add your collection to your home insurance, whether it may be worth considering a separate insurance policy for collectibles and some general tips on protecting a collection, whatever it may be.
Can I add collectibles to my home insurance?
The short answer to this is yes. But there are some things to be aware of when it comes to insuring collectibles under a standard home insurance policy.
Notify your insurer
Insurers will class some items or collectibles as ‘valuable items’. Think stamp, coin, or jewellery collections. And as such you will need to notify your insurer that you own this type of item so that it can be listed or itemised separately on your home insurance and adequately insured if the collection is damaged, stolen or lost.
If you do not notify your insurer that you have these types of items you may find yourself underinsured without enough cover to protect your collection, or face difficulties when it comes to claiming on your insurance as you did not provide your insurer with full details relating to the contents of your home.
Check your sums insured limits
If you have a collection of items not deemed ‘valuable’ by your insurer, then you will need to ensure that the cover provided on your standard policy is sufficient to protect your collection.
Home insurance policies will typically specify sums insured limits. For example, a contents insurance policy will set a limit of the amount of cover for all your possessions e.g., £50,000. Or a single item limit which limits how much you can claim for one item. This may be set at £2,500 on a standard policy as an example.
Ensure that your policy provides enough cover overall for all your possessions including any collections not listed separately on your policy. You will also want to ensure that individual items of your collection do not exceed the single item limit on your policy. For example, if you have an item in your collection worth £3,000 but the single item on your insurance policy is £2,500 you will not have enough cover to fully protect your item. In this case you may want to discuss this with your insurer and see if you can list the item separately on your policy.
Make sure you read the policy information to find out the limits which are set as all insurers set their own limits. It may also make sense to make use of a home contents calculator when calculating whether a policy offers enough cover for you.
If your possessions exceed the limits set by the policy, you may need to consider taking out a high net worth insurance policy in order to ensure your collectibles will be adequately covered.
What risks will you want to insure your collectibles against?
Most home contents insurance policies will insure your possessions in the home from damage due to:
- Fire
- Flood
- Theft
When it comes to your collectible insurance you may also want to think about whether you need extra cover for:
- Accidental damage
- Accidental loss
- Cover for taking your possessions or collectibles outside the home (e.g., theft, loss or damage which occurs outside the home)
- Cover for taking your possessions abroad
How to protect your collectibles
Whatever your collection, you’ll need to take steps to protect your valuable items.
Know how much they are worth
One of the first steps to take in protecting your collectibles is knowing how much they are worth. Have your collection valued on a regular basis and update your insurer if anything significant happens to the value of your collectibles.
It’s a good idea to keep any receipts of your collectibles, as well as a record of recent valuations.
Know what you own
Keep an inventory of your collectibles and a record of your collection – this could be in the form of photographs for example. This will help you and your insurer if anything should happen to your collection.
Store your items correctly
Some collectibles such as stamps, coins, or books may need to be stored in a particular way in order to preserve their condition and value.
Equally, an insurer may request that collectibles of higher value such as watches, jewellery or art are stored in a secure way, such as in a safe, as part of your insurance policy conditions.
Invest in the right insurance
Whether this is adding your items to your standard home insurance policy, taking out a high-net-worth insurance policy or having a standalone policy for specific collections, you will want to ensure that you have the right insurance for your needs.
If you collect vehicles – classic, luxury or high performance – then many specialist high net worth insurance policies can offer cover for these types of collections alongside your other collectibles.
Do your research and speak to your insurance broker or insurer if you have any questions about the policy conditions and coverage.
At Anthony Jones we work with a wide range of insurers to enable us to help you find the right cover for your needs. We can also work to help you understand how to minimise risk when it comes to your collectible or high value items. Get in touch with us today for more information on how we can help you get the right insurance cover for your possessions on 0208 8290 9086 or email us at personal@anthonyjones.com.
