Have you INSURED your collection - Maybe you should!

BluRayJunkie

Steelbooks Anonymous
Premium Supporter
Mar 23, 2010
1,730
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Christmas eve, my wife and I were sitting by the fire when we heard a bang in our separate storage basement. So down I went to check it out. Going down the stairs I see water lapping the second step up. The sump pump and sump alarm had BOTH failed. WELL, a couple of weeks before, I had packed a huge portion of my DVD collection down there while a made some new shelving in my man cave. All were carefully packed in plastic containers to keep them safe. Approximately 80 cases with a total of 2099 titles including box sets. Maybe 20 years of collecting. Well plastic cases float when surrounded by water, even if they are stored 9 cases high. So down they went into the water. The insurance cleanup crew said most cases were at least one quarter full of water. Pretty well total destruction and heartbreak.



So my answer is YES. 5 or so years ago I got an insurance rider for my DVD collection. I figures approximately 2000 items at $20.00 each. $40,000 coverage. I will let you all know how this all goes.
 
Would the insurance company even research the value of each dvd (check amazon/ebay)?

Ya for sure. I went on Amazon and documented the value of each individual title. It took me 3 days. They accepted my list. If I hadn't done it, they said they would have to have it reserched by one of their people. Just waiting now to see their response.

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It's called homeowners insurance, or renters insurance. Yes I have it. I don't have extra insurance specifically on my collection, but we have enough insurance on the home to cover all contents.

You have to be careful with this. Some companies have set limits for cd/dvds. They only pay up to that amount. Thats why I added a specific collection coverage.

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I guess that is true, but my insurance agent said, it covers home and contents up to the x amount of $'s. So if my collection would put us above the "X" dollars, then i would need a rider or more coverage. The only thing we have a rider on is my wife's diamond ring, because that leaves the house frequently.
 
Hey Steve - This is a scenario I consider often. Any update on your claim as of yet? Fingers crossed for you. If I was loaded, I'd be sending cash your way to help replace all this stuff. I'm not, so that doesn't really help but I feel ya!
 
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Keep us in the loop, I can't wait to see what happens with your insurance company BRJ.

I've insured my collection last year and now, I'll have to raise my amount. The same with my collectibles.
 
Keep us in the loop, I can't wait to see what happens with your insurance company BRJ.

I've insured my collection last year and now, I'll have to raise my amount. The same with my collectibles.

The latest info is...
"We are having an independant company assess the value of your collection. We have to be able to justify the payout."
That was a week and a half ago. I suggested they would need my scans to identify each issue, but it seems they can make a guess. :confused: Ya, right. I may have to lawyer up eventually.:mad:

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The latest info is...
"We are having an independant company assess the value of your collection. We have to be able to justify the payout."
That was a week and a half ago. I suggested they would need my scans to identify each issue, but it seems they can make a guess. :confused: Ya, right. I may have to lawyer up eventually.:mad:

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Damn. Sh^tty to hear Steve. Lawyer up if you have to and get your full payout amount. Hate Insurance companies for this reason. They never wanna' pay up when its there turn. :rolleyes:
 
I do a video inventory of my collection as I believe no insurance company will believe I own 5x this title ... 4x this one, 3x this one and so on. So I show them all in video pretty quickly and show like local paper and proof of date and time etc in video so its easy to prove that yes this is my house, my collection, and this is the date. I still think they would try to screw me tho like you say as its hard to justify prices when they should just go by ebay completed listings.
 
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I do a video inventory of my collection as I believe no insurance company will believe I own 5x this title ... 4x this one, 3x this one and so on. So I show them all in video pretty quickly and show like local paper and proof of date and time etc in video so its easy to prove that yes this is my house, my collection, and this is the date. I still think they would try to screw me tho like you say as its hard to justify prices when they should just go by ebay completed listings.

Thats a great idea John. I think I'll do that with my blu-ray collection. My main point is "I have REPLACEMENT" insurance! And that should mean sales tax should also be in play, not to mention delivery charges.

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State Farm gave me the idea for big collections ... said do a video compared to making a huge list etc. In case of robbery, fires etc. They are also very quick to do for those who have media racks with spines out. But do the whole house and all valuables in each room talking ....